Diomed 


rhe-LlfeTravels&^Observations 

of-aDog 


.,  ohn-Sergeant  Wise 


Diomed 


^^^^yi^x^' 


Diomed 


The  Life,  Travels,  and  Observations 
OF  A   Dog 


BY 


JOHN    SERGEANT    WISE 

ILLUSTRATED    BY 

J.   LINTON    CHAPMAN 


:\^cto  gork 

THE 

MACMILLAN 

COMPANY 

LOXDOX 

MACMILLAN 

&  CO., 

Ltd. 

1899 

All  rights   resefv 

'd 

I  t  c[   j';    < 'Capyright,  1897^,    ,<, 
'    '  '  fey.  Lr.n1s:fn,  Vcv'ffe,  3nc\  Con;puny. 

Copyright,   1899, 
By  The  Macmillan  Company. 

GIFT  OF^ 


Norivood  Press 

y.  S.   Gushing  &  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith 

Norivood,  Mass.,   U.S.A. 


Author's  Note 


I  SUBMIT  this  book  to  the  perusal  of  the  public  without  anv 
apologies. 

I  stand  tor  the  dog.  Whatever  he  thinks  or  says,  which  you 
think  he  could  not  think  or  say,  put  down  to  my  score,  good  peo- 
ple.     I  know  I  have  made  him  cover  an  unusual  range. 

First  of  all,  I  know  there  will  be  those  who,  impatient  at  anv 
evidence  of  idleness  in  the  life  of  a  busy  man,  judge  him  to  be  a 
trifler  by  signs  like  this.      Well  — be  it  so. 

I  know  of  an  instance  where  a  distinguished  Judge  on  the  Court 
of  Appeals  of  New  Hampshire  lost  appointment  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  because  in  a  suit  against  a  man  for 
killing  a  mink  out  of  season,  when  it  was  chasing  the  geese  of  de- 
fendant, he  delivered  an  opinion  covering  twentv-five  pages  of 
printed  reports,  in  which  he  reviewed  the  whole  law  of  justifiable 
killing  in  defence  of  person  or  property.  It  is  a  great  opinion  ; 
but  it  killed  the  prospects  of  the  judge  who  delivered  it,  bv  giving 
him  the  name  of  "The  Mink  Judge."  {l-^ide  53  N.  H.  398, 
Aldrich  V.  Wright. )  Without  fearing  that  I  imperil  so  great  a 
prize,  1  know  the  danger  of  committing  one's  name  to  authorship 
like  this.    Still,  I  am  guiltv.    And  the  verdict  must  be  pronounced. 

I  began  the  book  for  seven  children  of  my  own,  disguising,  under 
the  story  of  their  seven  setter  puppies,  the  desire  to  familiarize 
them  with  life  in  their  native  state  as  I  knew  her,  and  with  people 
still  there,  but  seldom  heard  of,  who  are  the  priceless  jewels, 
almost  hidden,  amid  the  rubbish  of  her  decav. 

Some  good  friends  of  ours  read  the  manuscript,  and  flattered  me 
with  the  idea  that  it  might  excite  a  more  wide-spread  interest  than 
that  of  my  own  home  circle.  We  all  know  how  quickly  a  writer 
succumbs  to  that  notion  In  my  case  persuasion  was  easy.  And 
so  I  launched  "  Diomed."  If  it  does  not  fall  stillborn,  1  shall  be 
surprised.  If  critics  will  only  abuse  it  into  notoriety,  I  shall  be 
charmed  —  delighted. 


iyi95524 


vi  Author's   Not£ 


I  will  tell  you  who  it  is  chiefly  intended  to  reach.  For  those  of 
mv  own  class  who  are  too  old  to  shoot,  or  who  can  no  longer  steal 
time  for  sport,  and  have  to  do  their  shooting  in  their  heads  nowa- 
davs.  You  will  sympathize  with  me,  you  old  boys.  I  can  see 
vou  reading  "  Diomed  "  in  spite  of  yourselves,  and  chuckling  over 
the  stories.  Be  good  fellows,  and  thank  me.  You  know  how  it 
will  gratify  me,  and  it  costs  you  only  a  penny  to  do  so. 

For  the  boys  and  girls  who  are  coming  on.  You  need  some 
healthv  book.  You  have  been  reading  too  much  trash  of  late. 
There's  not  a  low  suggestion  between  these  lines,  dear  boys  and 
girls.  There  are  lots  of  pictures,  and  there  is  plenty  of  fun.  And 
my  story  is  better  for  you  than  "Trilbv,"  and  my  French  is  as 
bad  as  Du  Maurier's.  You  will  not  abuse  me  if  you  do  not  en- 
dorse me  ;  for,  all  my  life,  I  have  loved  boys  and  girls  too  well  to 
believe  that  what  I  write  will  actually  displease  them. 

For  a  great  class  of  other  people  who  sigh  for  novelty,  there  is 
much  in  this  boojc^  to  astonish  them.  Take  a  peep  at  it,  good, 
great  unknown.  It  is  all  so  arranged  that  it  may  be  taken  in 
broken  doses.  Everv  chapter  is  independent  of  the  other,  save 
that  all  are  bound  together  bv  the  thread  of  a  dog's  life  —  and  who 
minds  clipping  that  : 

The  gendeman  who  has  illustrated  the  book  has  delighted  me  by 
the  way  he  caught  the  spirit  of  mv  pastime.  He  has  expressed  the 
thoughts  I  was  trving  for,  better  in  the  pictures  than  I  could  in 
writing. 

The  National  Museum  of  Natural  History  was  exceedingly  kind 
in  allowing  us  the  use  of  their  specimens,  from  which  to  make 
sketches. 

The  good  publisher  has  agreed  to  let  me  have  certain  copies  for 
a  few  friends.  Bv  that  arrangement  my  original  aspiration  con- 
cerning "  Diomed  "  is  satisfied. 

And  now,  I  let  go  the  manuscript  and  illustrations  and  return  to 
work,  curiously  waiting  to  see  whether  anybody  but  personal 
friends  will  take  the  trouble  to  open  the  pages  of  my  pet  diversion 
for  the  past  vear. 

J.   S.    W. 

New  York,  April  13,   1896. 


Contents 


chapter 

I.  My  Name  is  Diomed 

II.  School  Days 

III.  A  Trip  through  the  Mountains  —  Ruffed  G 

IV'.  Serious  Work  —  Horseback  Hunting 

V.  Snipe-shooting  at  Deep  Bottom 

VI.  A  Blue-blood  Rival 

VII.  Fresh  Fields  and  Pastures  New 

VIII.  On  the  Western  Prairies 

IX.  High-toned  Shooting 

X.  A  Fight — An   Escapade  —  A  Portrait  and   Great 

Expectations 

XI.  A  Week  with  an  Artist  —  Pampatike 

XII.  How  Pictures  representing  Field  Sports  are  made 

XIII.  Superstitions  —  In  North  Carolina  —  A  Dog  Show 

—  A  Fox-hunt  —  And  a  Sad  Change 

XIV.  A  Trip  to  Florida 

XV.  A  Hunt  on  the  Mexican  Border 

XVI.  A    Severe    Winter — Old    Age    approaches  —  A 

Season   of  Failures       .  .  .  .  . 

XVII.  Dick's  Illness  — Terrapin  Neck  —  Turkey-hunting 

XVIII.  Illness  —  A   Change — Williamsburg  —  The   End 


Page 
I 

17 
32 

45 

74 

90 

1 06 

124 

137 

154 

1 70 

192 


241 

261 

274 
298 


Diomed 


Chapter  I 


YWAME  ISUIOHED,  and  i 

was  born  April  22,  1883,  in  Richmond,  Virginia. 
I  am  a  setter  dog.  My  earliest  recollection  of 
anything  is  of  a  stable  in  rear  of  my  master's  resi- 
dence on  one  of  the  principal  streets.  A  vacant 
stall,  liberally  supplied  with  tan  bark,  and  flooded 
by  the  morning  sunlight,  had  been  assigned  to 
mother.  Our  only  neighbor  was  the  old  family 
horse,    a    warm    friend    of  my    mother,   who    daily 


1  Diomed 

looked  over  the  partition  and  inquired  after  the 
Jhetdth  o{  the  family.  The  language  of  dogs  and 
that  of  horses  is  so  near  alike  there  is  no  trouble 
.'ivBkteS^ejr!  ibofat-'-^iiderstanding  one  another. 
'  There"  were's'eVfcn  of  us, —  six  boys  and  a  girl. 
We  bore  a  strong  family  resemblance,  being  all 
white,  with  lemon  or  tan  markings,  and  dark  hazel 
eyes,  like  mother.  A  number  of  our  visitors  said 
we  were  a  remarkably  "  even  lot,"  whatever  that 
may  have  meant ;  and  our  birth  must  have  been 
quite  a  local  event,  for  we  had  many  visitors.  Mas- 
ter's boys  and  girls,  of  whom  there  were  five,  con- 
stantly flitted  in  and  out  of  the  stable  to  see  how 
we  were  coming  on,  and,  several  times  daily,  master 
would  appear,  accompanied  by  one  or  more  sports- 
men friends,  and  discuss  our  "points"  freely.  Hu- 
man language  and  conduct  are  not  only  thoroughly 
understood  by  dogs,  but  they  comprehend  them  at  a 
much  earlier  age  than  do  humans,  because,  I  presume, 
of  our  much  shorter  lives  and  earlier  maturity. 

Apparently  great  things  were  expected  of  us. 

Mother  was  a  bright,  sunny  little  creature ;  a 
great  flivorite,  not  only  for  her  beauty  and  merry 
disposition,  but  because  she  was  a  fine  worker  in 
the  field,  and  came  of  a  stock  of  setters  that  had 
been  famous  in  Virginia  for  nearly  halt  a  century. 
Her  maiden  name  was  Eva  McMurdo.  Father 
was  likewise  distinguished.  He  was  of  English 
parentage.  His  name  was  Sergeant.  He  was  a 
handsome  fellow,  but  did  not  come  about  often,  or 
appear  very  deeply  interested  in  our  weltare.  All 
the  sportsmen  who  commented  upon  him  in  our 
presence   declared   that    he   was    possessed   of  great 


Diomed  3 

steadiness  of  character  and  fine  intelligence.  There 
was  a  certain  air  of  superiority  in  his  bearing,  which, 
coupled  with  allusions,  from  time  to  time,  to  his 
English  ancestors,  Leicester,  Macdona's  Ranger, 
Llewellyn's  Dan,  and  others,  seemed  to  have  an 
irritating  effect  on  mother,  who  was  always  quick 
to  let  him  and  us  know  that  she  was  just  as  good  as 
he  was.  When  I  grew  older  I  was  very  glad  I  had 
heard  this,  for  it  is  a  comfortable  thing  to  know  that 
one  is  well  bred;  but  I  confess  that,  in  the  days  of 
my  puppvhood,  it  sometimes  grew  tiresome  to  hear 
mother  tell  how  she  was  descended  from  the  famous 
pair  of  dogs  imported  in  1840  by  Colonel  Jack  Heth 
of  Midlothian,  and  how  their  daughter,  famous  old 
Celeste,  had  been  owned  by  Colonel  McMurdo,  who 
invited  Kossuth  to  shoot  over  her ;  and  how,  in 
time,  the  blood  of  Colonel  Jenifer's  imported  Sy, 
and  of  famous  old  Tate's  Rio,  and  of  Cranz's  Dash, 
and  other  Virginia  celebrities,  had  been  combined  in 
her.  If  it  had  depended  upon  me,  in  my  giddy 
youth,  to  preserve  these  genealogical  data,  1  tear 
they  would  have  been  lost,  for  mother  died  when 
I  was  only  about  four  years  old,  and  I  was  too  busy 
hunting  in  those  days  to  pay  much  attention  to 
matters  of  family  history.  However,  master  was 
more  prudent,  and  has  the  complete  record,  ot 
which  I  may  say,  without  vanity  I  hope,  that  I  am 
justly  proud. 

I  may  add  that,  in  maturity,  I  discovered  that 
this  techiness  of  mother  about  being  as  good  as 
anybody,  was  not  peculiar  to  her,  or  even  to  Vir- 
ginia dogs,  but  was  a  very  common  feeling  among 
all  animated  nature  in  our  locality. 


4  Diomed 

Some  time  ago,  lying  in  master's  library,  I  heard 
him  reading  the  autobiography  of  a  distinguished 
German  poet,  who  prefixed  to  his  memoir  his  pedi- 
gree, and,  discussing  his  parentage,  said  : 

"Vom  Vater  hab'ch  die  Statur, 
Des  Lebens  ernstes  Fuhren  •, 
Von  Mutterchen  die  Frohnatur." 

He  translated  it  to  the  children  as  meaning,  "From 
my  father  I  inherit  my  frame,  and  the  steady  guid- 
ance of  life ;  from  dear  little  mother,  my  happy 
disposition."  ^ 

That  method  of  putting  oneself  on  record  struck 
me  as  excellent  for  a  dog,  as  well  as  for  a  German 
poet ;  and  his  description  of  his  parents  tallied  so 
well  with  mine  that  I  beat  upon  the  rug  several 
times  with  my  tail,  as  I  lay  stretched  before  the  fire, 
and  master  said,  "  Why,  Di,  old  boy,  that  suits 
you."  Then  I  sat  up  and  rested  my  head  on  his 
knee,  while  he  read  on. 

This  seems  sufficient  of  genealogy. 

It  was  known  and  discussed  between  us,  from  the 
first,  that  only  one  of  our  number  would  be  retained 
by  master  as  his  shooting  companion,  while  the 
others  would  be  distributed  to  his  friends.  Such 
family  separations  are  not  looked  forward  to  with 
sorrow  anci  apprehension  among  dogs  as  among 
human  beings.  They  are  anticipated  as  a  matter  ot 
course,  and  as  the  opportunity  to  a  good  dog  to  se- 
cure a  good  master,  and  do  his  allotteci  work  in  life. 

What  interested  us  most  was  to  know  which  of 
us  master  would  select  as  his  favorite.      Everybody 

1  Goethe's  Autobiography. 


Diomed 


5 


else  was  awaiting  his  final  choice,  and  that  choice  was 
a  difficult  one  to  make  as  we  were  all  so  much  alike. 
About  this  time  master  photographed  us  in 
a  group,  and  thinking  you  would  like  to  have  a 
glimpse  of  us,  I   here  insert  the  picture. 


The  third  pup  from  mother's  hind  leg  represents 
me ;  the  pup  with  the  lemon-colored  lozenge  on 
the  occiput.  I  always  chose  that  place  because 
mother  frequently  licked  us  as  we  suckled  her,  and 
that  was  the  most  convenient  place  for  her  to  reach 
me.      From  the  very  outset  master  showed  a  pref- 


6  Diomed 

erence  for  me,  and  I  will  confess  that  mother  did 
all  she  could  to  confirm  that  preference.  Never- 
theless, at  least  two  of  my  brothers  grew  so  fast 
and  looked  so  handsome  that  master  several  times 
wavered  in  his  choice,  and  his  criticisms  and  doubts 
made  me  a  very  uneasy  pup.  One  day  he  came  in 
and  tossed  a  glove  into  the  corner  of  the  stall. 
My  big  brother  Jack,  who  was  a  dangerous  com- 
petitor, had  been  asleep,  and  was  lazy.  I  saw  the 
glove,  and,  partlv  moved  by  curiosity,  rose  up,  toci- 
dled  over  to  it,  and  took  it  in  my  mouth.  Master 
called  me,  and  I  went  over  to  where  he  was  bend- 
ing down,  with  the  glove  still  in  my  tiny  mouth. 
That  settled  it.  He  lifted  me  up  by  the  skin  of 
my  neck,  examined  my  markings  carefully,  and, 
putting  me  down  gently,  said,  "  This  is  my  first 
choice,  and  I  name  him  Diomed."  We  were  now 
about  ten  weeks  old,  and  the  other  sportsmen 
entitled  to  pups  came  with  master,  chose  their 
pups,  and  took  them  away,  one  by  one.  Several 
of  the  pups  were  shipped  away  in  crates.  Jack 
went  to  Colonel  Sloo  of  Vincennes,  Indiana.  Of 
course  we  were  all  more  or  less  depressed  by  the 
breaking  up  of  the  home  in  the  stable;  but  mother 
was  a  philosopher,  and,  as  the  pups  went  off,  she 
would  lick  their  faces  clean,  tell  them  to  be  brave 
and  happy  in  their  new  homes,  and  bid  them  try, 
as  they  grew  up,  to  gain  the  attachment  of  their 
masters,  and  prove  worthy  of  their  illustrious  an- 
cestors, particularlv  of  "  Celeste  "  of  the  McMurdo 
strain.  Then  their  crates  would  be  stuffed  with 
dog-biscuit,  a  tin  cup  tied  in  the  corner  for  water, 
and  away  they  would  go  on   their  journey  of  life  ; 


Dlomed  7 

and  that  was  the  last  of  them,  as  far  as  I  was  con- 
cerned. No.  Not  the  last  of  all  of  them.  For, 
three  years  later,  I  met  my  favorite  brother  Jack 
on  the  plains  of  Minnesota,  where  we  hunted 
prairie  chickens  together,  and  had  a  famous  time. 
Many  a  night,  while  master  and  his  companions 
were  discussing  the  relative  merits  of  Jack  and 
myself,  dear  old  Jack  and  I  would  be  curled  up 
together  in  the  buffalo  grass,  talking  about  mother 
and  the  others,  and  the  good  times  we  had  in  the 
stable.  Jack  had  a  good  master  and  was  happy. 
He  was  a  fine  strapping  fellow,  and  he  worked  me 
verv  hard  to  get  the  best  of  him.  We  hunted 
together  like  twins,  and  were  not  a  bit  jealous  of 
each  other.  But  we  became  so  much  interested  in 
each  other  that  we  sometimes  paid  little  attention 
to  our  masters,  and  one  day  master  gave  us  a  lesson 
that  neither  of  us  soon  forgot.  However,  I  will  tell 
that  story  later. 

Riding  home  in  the  prairie  wagon,  the  discus- 
sions between  master  and  his  companions  as  to  our 
relative  merits  amused  us  both.  Master  was  par- 
tial to  me,  and  would  not  allow  that  Jack's  work 
approached  mine.  Others  contended  there  was 
little  to  choose  between  us,  and  that,  if  anything, 
Jack  was  the  best.  This,  master  denied  hotly,  and 
my  young  master,  aged  about  fourteen,  grew  furious 
at  any  such  suggestion.  The  truth  is.  Jack  and 
I  were  an  evenlv  matched  pair,  and  I  always  re- 
garded him  as  fully  mv  equal  in  nose,  speed,  endur- 
ance, and  intelligence,  and  was  proud  of  such  a 
brother.      But  I  anticipate. 

By   July,    1883,   I    was    left   alone   with    mother. 


Diomed 


I  was  quite  lonesome.  The  children,  who  had 
petted  me  greatly,  had  gone  off  to  the  country. 
The  city  was  very  hot.  Mother  and  I  sweltered 
along  through  the  dog-days  with  no  companion  but 
the  old  cook ;  and,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
lessons  on  the  English  sparrows  that  came  into  our 
back  yard  for  crumbs,  I  had  no  sort  of  diversion. 
In  the  evening  master  would  sit  on  the  back-yard 

steps,  in  his  shirt 
sleeves,  and  teach 
me  to  fetch  ;  but  it 
was  too  hot  even 
for  that.  This  is 
the  way  I  looked  at 
this  period. 

About  the  last  of 
August  master 
brought  me  my  first 
collar  and  chain  and 
bundled  me  into  a 
carriage.  I  under- 
stood that  I  was  be- 


Tcn    vvi 


Ad. 


ing  taken  to  boarding-school  in  the  country.  Of 
course,  I  was  glad  to  go,  for  in  the  long  August 
evenings  mother  had  amused  me  by  telling  me  of 
the  joys  of  quail  and  snipe  and  grouse  shooting; 
and   I  was  all  aflame  for  sport. 

If  ever  a  pup  was  suddenly  ushered  into  the 
noise  and  bustle  of  the  outside  world,  I  was. 
Master  drove  to  the  depot,  chained  me  in  a  bag- 
gage car,  and  left  me.  It  was  the  first  time  I  had 
ever  been  chained,  and  when  the  cars  started  off 
I    nearly  broke   my   neck  trying  to   release    myselt. 


Diomed  9 

No  doubt  I  would  have  broken  my  neck  if  I  had 
succeeded  in  getting  loose  ;  tor  I  am  sure  I  would 
have  jumped  out  of  the  car.  The  baggage-man 
laughed  at  mv  antics,  patted  me,  and  endeavored  to 
reassure  me  ;  and  it  was  not  long  before,  wearied  by 
hopeless  exertion,  I  lav  down  and  slept  a  troubled 
puppy  sleep  in  which  I  dreamed  that  master  had 
deserted  me.  The  thundering  noise  of  the  train, 
at  first  so  alarming,  soon  became  familiar.  Think- 
ing over  gun-shvness  in  puppies,  I  am  satisfied  that 
such  a  trip,  to  the  average  gun-shy  pup,  would,  in 
most  instances,  efi-ect  a  cure  ;  for  when,  later  in  the 
dav,  master  fired  his  gun,  the  noise  was  so  much 
less  than  that  of  the  train,  it  did  not  alarm  me 
in  the  slightest  degree. 

We  left  the  train  at  a  place  called  Lester 
Manor  on  the  Pamunkv  River.  It  was  near  to 
the  Pamunky  Indian  Reservation,  and  there  we 
were  met  by  some  Indians  with  boats,  and  bv  the 
man  to  whom  I  was  to  be  delivered  tor  mv  educa- 
tion. He  was  a  pleasant-faced  fellow,  with  a  bright 
eye,  and  came  up  at  once,  and  patted  and  caressed 
me,  and  I  could  see  by  his  gestures  he  was  much 
pleased  with  my  looks.  And  I  was  a  saucy-look- 
ing little  chap. 

In  decrepit  age,  how  I  long  for  the  fire  and 
ginger  that  filled  me  in  those  happy  days  ot  youth  ! 
Everything  was  new  to  me  then,  and  interested  me. 
Released  for  a  little  exercise,  I  dashed  out  into 
a  neighboring  clover  lot;  plunged  about  in  the 
lush  grass,  that  I  had  never  seen  before  ;  snapped 
at  the  butterflies  ;  burst  through  a  flock  of  young 
chickens  ;   and,  finally,  made  a  great  circuit  ot  the 


lO  Diomed 

field,  vainly  chasing  a  swift  that  was  skimming  here 
and  there  in  the  delicious  summer  evening  air. 

I  could  hear  master  exclaim,  as  he  stood  in  the 
group  watching  me,  "Isn't  he  a  daisy?"  and  all 
agreed  that  1  gave  every  promise  of  being  a  great 
hunting  dog. 

What  puzzled  me  most  was  that  mv  prospective 
school-teacher  spoke  never  a  word.  Now  I  had 
never  before  seen  a  man  who  did  not  talk.  Master 
talked  a  great  deal,  and  I  loved  every  sound  of  his 
voice,  whether  of  caress  or  command.  Until  I  met 
my  teacher  I  thought  every  man  could  talk.  But 
I  soon  learned  that  he  was  what  men  call  a  mute. 

I  wondered  how  he  could  teach  me  if  he  said 
nothing.  I  saw  him  and  master  writing  on  a  pad 
of  paper,  and  communicating  bv  signs  of  their 
hands  and  fingers,  and  I  wondered  how  I  could 
ever  be  able  to  comprehend  him.  It  was  not  long, 
however,  before  I  tound  that,  between  this  mute 
gentleman  and  mvself,  comprehension  was  more 
perfect,  and  more  simple  even,  than  with  master. 
His  ever-watchful  eve  made  him  understand  me 
even  better  than  master  did  ;  and,  with  nothing  but 
a  whistle,  and  the  signs  he  made  me  with  his  hands, 
he  could  make  me  understand  and  obey  his  wishes 
better  than  the  noisiest  man  I  ever  hunted  with.  In 
after  years  I  have  often  heard  sportsmen  express 
surprise  at  the  promptness  with  which  I  obeyed 
master  when  beyond  the  reach  of  his  voice.  There 
was  really  nothing  remarkable  about  it ;  for  I  had 
learned  to  comprehend  motions  of  the  hand  thor- 
oughly, while  under  the  training  of  this  mute 
teacher.      His   name  was  Turner.      He  was  a  good 


Diomed  1 1 

sportsman,  and  I  became  more  attached  to  him 
than  to  any  man  1  ever  met  except  master.  Mr. 
Turner  was  a  bachelor,  and  made  me  his  constant 
companion,  night  and  day.  I  behev^e  that  from  this 
intimacy  I  act]uired  the  knowledge  ot  men  and 
their  ways  that  has  made  men  call  me  a  remark- 
ably intelligent  dog.  One  thing  about  my  teacher 
I  never  did  understand.  He  was  very  deaf.  So 
deaf,  in  fact,  that,  no  matter  how  loud  I  barked, 
or  how  near  I  was  to  him,  he  never  heard  me.  It 
was  necessary  to  catch  his  eye  to  have  his  atten- 
tion. But  when  we  were  in  the  field,  if  a  covey 
of  birds  rose  behind  him,  no  matter  how  unex- 
pectedly, he  would,  if  they  were  anywhere  near 
him,  realize,  in  some  way,  the  fact ;  and  would 
wheel  around  and  fire  at  them  as  quickly  as  a 
man  of  the  keenest  hearing.  How  he  realized 
their  presence  without  seeing  them  I  have  never 
been  able  to  conjecture.  The  wings  of  the  birds, 
as  they  rose,  must  have  produced  some  peculiar 
crepitation  in  the  air  which  had  an  influence  upon 
his  sense  of  hearing,  while  much  louder  noises  did 
not  aflect  him  at  all. 

We  took  the  boats,  and  the  Indians  paddled 
us  down  to  a  place  called  Cumberland  Marshes. 
Master  and  Mr.  Turner  were  going  to  shoot  rail 
the  next  morning.  Of  course,  I  had  no  part  in 
this,  but  on  the  way  down  the  river,  master  and 
his  friend  had  pretty  sport  shooting  bull-bats  trom 
the  boat.  At  this  season  of  the  year,  in  this  local- 
ity, these  birds  are  plentiful,  and  afford  beautiful 
and  difficult  shots.  They  are  esteemed  great  luxu- 
ries, being    very   fat.      This    may    surprise    many   a 


12 


Diomed 


northern  and  western  sportsman,  for,  in  their  sec- 
tions, these  bats  or  night-hawks  are,  as  a  rule,  quite 
poor,  and  no  one  thinks  of  eating  them.  They  are 
ugly  creatures,  resembling  the  whip-poor-will,  but 
smaller. 

At   first    the    sound   of   the    guns    was    far   from 
agreeable    to    me,  but    the    ilight    of   the    birds,  as 


Bull-bats. 


they  dashed  hither  and  thither,  and  swooped  above 
our  heads,  greatly  excited  me  ;  and  as  I  saw  them 
plash  into  the  water,  after  the  reports  of  the  guns, 
I  very  soon  realized  that  the  only  danger  was  to  the 
birds;  and  I  became  so  much  delighted  that  I  made 
one  or  two  efforts  to  spring  overboard  and  retrieve 
them;  in  which  I  was  restrained  by  my  little  master, 
who   had  come  with  us.      He  had  a  small   20-bore 


Diomed 


Kl 


gun,  and,  encouraged  by  master,  succeeded,  after 
several  failures,  in  bringing  down  a  bat,  —  a  pro- 
ceeding hailed  with  great  delight  by  master,  who 
announced  that  it  was  the  first  bird  the  boy  had 
ever  shot  on  the  wing.  When  the  bats  were 
gathered  into  the  boat  1  did  a  good  deal  of  snuf- 
fling among  them  ;  but  I  must  say  that  the  bull- 
bats  did  not  fill  the  measure  of  my  ambition  as 
a  hunting  dog ;  and  did  not  possess  the  delicious 
aroma  mother  had  mentioned  as  pertaining  to  quail 
and  woodcock. 

That  was  the  first  glorious  evening.      Lite  broad- 
ened out  to  me  in  those  few  hours  as  never  before. 


On  the   Pamunky. 

The  wide  fields  and  sombre  woods  skirting  the 
placid  Pamunkv  were  flooded  with  the  light  ot  the 
dying  day,  and  we  paddled  through  the  glassy 
waters  in  the  shadows  from  the  westward  which 
fell  almost  across  the  silent  stream.  The  guns 
echoed  and  re-echoed  through  the  forests,  and  after 
the  firing  had  ceased,  1  stood  in  the  bow  of  our 
little  boat,  peering  forward,  wondering  how  large 
the  world  was,  awed  by  the  silence  of  the  deepen- 


14  Diomed 

ing  gloom,  —  a  silence  broken  only  by  some  distant 
sound  of  life,  the  voices  of  men  or  barking  of  dogs, 
from  the  plantations  on  the  high  banks  to  our  right, 
or  the  hooting  of  owls  in  the  swamps  to  our  left. 

Our  party  hastened  to  the  club-house,  which  was 
filled  with  lights  visible  long  before  we  reached  it  in 
the  darkness.     After  a  good  supper,  I,  being  quite 


Rail. 


exhausted  by  the  excitement  of  the  day,  sunk  to 
sleep  upon  master's  cot,  where  I  was  allowed  to  warm 
his  feet  that  night.  I  was  not  a  bit  homesick. 
True,  I  did  not  tancy  being  left  alone  at  the  house 
when  master  and  his  party  went  out  before  day  to 
shoot  rail  on  the  morning  tide  ;  but  when  they  came 
back,  about  ten  o'clock,  with  a  great  number  of  rail, 
I  was  very  happy. 

Again,    I    snuffled    around   among    the    rail-birds 
and  the  teal-ducks  they  brought  in,  and  again  I  felt 


Diomed  1 5 

decided  disappointment  that  their  smell  was  not 
near  so  good  as  mother  had  taught  me  to  expect. 
This  morning  master  gave  me  my  first  lessons  in 
retrieving.  1  did  not  fancy  either  the  smell  or  taste 
of  rail-birds,  and  so,  when  he  tossed  one  off  for  me 
to  fetch,  1  simply  refused.  That  made  a  direct 
issue  with  master,  and  I  discovered,  even  at  that 
early  day,  that  it  is  best  not  to  raise  such  issues  with 
him.  After  vainly  trying  to  persuade  me  to  fetch 
the  bird  he  boxed  mv  jaws  soundly,  put  me  in  a 
sitting  posture,  placed  a  bird  in  my  mouth,  and 
made  me  sit  there  holding  it  until  he  said  "  fetch." 
I  found  very  soon  that  he  meant  what  he  said,  and 
it  was  not  long  before  I  did  as  he  bade. 

That  afternoon  the  Indians  paddled  us  back  to 
the  railroad  station,  and  master  and  young  master 
departed  for  Richmond,  leaving  me  alone  with  my 
teacher.  He  had  a  quaint  little  buggy  with  a 
quick-stepping  wiry  horse,  and  very  soon  we  were 
speeding  awav  to  my  new  home.  I  snuggled  up 
beside  him  on  the  seat.  One  would  think  that  a 
young  pup  such  as  1  was  would  have  been  home- 
sick and  despondent  at  being  thus  cut  off  from  all 
his  fnends  and  earlv  associations,  lett  in  a  strange 
countrv  with  a  strange  man.  But  such  was  not  the 
case.  The  man  was  so  good  and  kind  I  loved  him 
right  away ;  and  somehow,  I  felt  that  there  was 
nothing  in  city  life  for  me  ;  and  I  loved  the  country, 
and  rejoiced  that  I  was  there.  I  knew  I  would  soon 
see  my  dear  master  again,  and  that  our  happiest  days 
together  would  be  in  the  country.  1  wanted  to 
learn  how  to  find  the  birds  for  him,  and  knew  how 
proud  he  would  be  when  I  had  my  education. 


i6 


DI 


ome 


d 


When  we  reached  our  new  home  I  was  at  once 
admitted  to  Mr,  Turner's  room,  which  served  both 
as  sleeping  apartment  and  dining-room.  An  old 
coat  was  spread  upon  the  bare  floor  in  the  corner 
near  the  fireplace,  where  he  could  have  me  in  view 
even  when  in  bed,  and  there  I  slept  nightly  for  sev- 
eral months. 

When  the  old  colored  woman  who  attended  to  all 
his  wants  came  in  to  prepare  the  table  for  his  even- 
ing meal,  she  looked  at  me  hard  and  long.  Then, 
well  knowing  her  mute  master  would  not  hear  her, 
she  soliloquized:  "Humph!  Another  puppy !  Now 
we'll  have  another  mess  of  it  all  the  time."  But 
when  Mr.  Turner  smiled  and  pointed  towards  me, 
she,  with  genuine  darky  diplomacy,  smiled  back  and 
nodded  admiration  and  approval. 


Chapter   II 

(1883) 
School   Days 


>V*i/^ 


'is>!-. 


rrt 


\i 


was  very  pleasant.  He,  himself,  owned  a  sweet, 
motherly  little  setter  named  Mab,  a  distant  rela- 
tive of  mother,  and  she  took  much  interest  in  me. 
I  grew  very  rapidly  in  the  country,  but  was,  of 
course,  too  young  to  do  much  hunting  that  autumn. 
I  was  allowed  to  accompany  Mab,  and  there  is  no 
denying  it,  she  and  I  were  exceedingly  fond  of 
excursions  after  young  hares.  Our  kind  master 
never  fully  realized  what  fun  Mab  and  I  had  dur- 

c  17 


1 8  Diomed 

ing  September,  along  the  Pamunky  River  banks  ; 
or  how  many  young  hares  we  caught.  Now,  in 
my  day,  I  have  had  all  sorts  of  hunting  after  small 
game.  I  am  considered  a  very  fine  quail  dog,  and 
have  hunted  snipes,  rufiied  grouse,  prairie  chickens, 
woodcocks,  and  other  game  for  these  past  gone  ten 
years  ;  but  I  am  frank  to  confess  that  I  have  had 
more  real  enjoyment  from  hare-hunting  than  at  any 
other  sport.  I  know  it  is  the  confession  of  a  low 
and  vulgar  taste,  and  more  than  once  I  have  paid 
the   penalty  for  its  indulgence  ;   but  even  now,  the 


sweetest  memories  of  my  youth  are  of  the  days 
when  Mab  and  I  would  steal  away,  and  go  nosing 
about  from  brush  pile  to  brush  pile,  on  the  bluffs, 
until  we  found  a  "  bunny  "  snugly  tucked  away, 
bounce  her,  and  after  the  most  exciting  chase,  catch 
her.  Dear  me,  how  bright  her  eyes  looked  when 
we  spied  her  in  her  form  !  how  cunning,  and  how 
quick  she  was  when  she  bolted  !  and  oh,  how  fast 
she  was,  and  how  hopeless  seemed  the  race  tor  the 
first  one  hundred  yards ! 

But  dogs  are  too  clever  for  hares,  and  too  endur- 
ing. While  the  poor  little  creatures  could  spin 
away  from  us  at  first,  Mab  seldom  failed  to  over- 
haul puss  ;    and  if  she  did  not,  we   had  our  tricks 


Diomed  19 

by  which  we  generally  circumvented  the  poor  little 
victim, 

I  could  not  run  as  fast  as  Mab  in  those  davs  ; 
so,  knowing  the  habit  of  the  hare  to  double  back 
to  its  starting-point,  Mab  taught  me  to  let  her  be 
the  runner  up,  I  to  wait  near  where  we  started  our 
quarry,  until  she  brought  her  back,  well  winded. 
Then  I  would  make  my  rush,  and  overhaul  her. 
So  when  we  put  her  up,  I  would  squat  ilat  in  the 
grass,  and  wait,  listening  with  beating  heart  to  the 
music  of  Mab's  voice  until,  after  it  had  almost  died 
awav,  it  would  begin  to  grow  louder  and  louder, 
and  I  knew  the  hare  was  coming  back.  At  last, 
she  would  heave  in  sight,  winded  and  well  spent,. 
I  crouching  flat  until  she  w-as  very  near  to  me. 
Sometimes  she  would  almost  rush  into  my  very 
jaws.     Always  she  paid  forfeit. 

Many  is  the  evening  Mab  and  I  have  spent  in 
this  surreptitious  work,  while,  borne  to  us  on  the 
breeze  from  far  away,  came,  unheeded,  the  whistle 
of  my  good  teacher  who  had  come  out  searching  for 
us,  wondering  why  we  stayed  so  long.  Sometimes 
we  were  caught  at  our  poaching.  One  evening, 
I  remember,  we  had  a  fine  juicv  young  rabbit. 
After  we  had  taken  her  to  the  river  bank  and  eaten 
her,  and  quenched  our  thirst  in  the  cool  waters, 
we  trotted  leisurely  to  where  Mr.  Turner  sat  on 
a  fence,  calling  and  calling  us.  Mab  was  dark  red, 
but  my  mouth  and  nose  were  white.  Our  good 
teacher  was  not  long  in  discovering  the  remnants  of 
rabbit  fur  and  blood  about  my  chops,  and  the  result 
was,  that  for  some  days  Mab  and  I  were  put  on  chain, 
to  stop  that  most  obnoxious  habit  of  self-hunting. 


10  Diomed 

However  injuriously  other  puppies  may  have 
been  affected  by  self-hunting,  it  did  me  great  good. 
I  gained  in  muscle  and  in  wind  by  mv  earlv  habits 
of  poaching,  and  as  mv  life  has  been  spent  much  in 
the  city,  I  had  few  opportunities  in  later  vears  to 
indulge  in  mv  early  dissipation. 

When,  a  year  later,  I  ran  some  five  hundred 
miles,  following  master,  who  was  on  horseback,  in 
his  campaigns  in  southwest  Virginia,  the  exercise  I 
had  with  Mab  while  law-breaking  stood  me  in  good 
stead,  for  it  had  made  me  an  unusually  tough  dog. 
But  rabbit-hunting  has  cost  me  manv  a  licking 
in  mv  dav.  Of  course,  I  pointed  them,  as  other 
dogs  do  when  hunting  in  the  field  ;  but  when  "  old 
Molly  "  sprung,  the  memorv  of  my  earlv  davs  with 
Mab  was  so  delightful  I  could  ill  repress  mv  in- 
clination to  giv^e  chase,  and  even  in  sight  ot  the 
most  tempting  stubble  I  have  often  loitered  about 
a  promising  sedge  patch  or  briar-bush,  hoping  to 
put  up  mv  favorite  hare.  Sometimes  when  she 
showed  me  her  white  flag,  I  forgot  all  prudence, 
and  dashed  after  her  like  mad.  Master  was  always 
indignant  about  this  passion  of  mine.  I  knew  I 
would  be  lashed  when  I  came  trotting  back,  with 
tail  down,  looking  repentant ;  but  I  simply  could 
not  resist  the  passion  for  chasing  until  he  fell  upon 
a  device  that  completely  cured  me.  After  repeated 
scoldings  and  whippings  he  changed  his  tactics.  It 
was  easy  to  tell  when  I  had  a  hare  on  point.  With 
birds,  I  crouched  low,  and  was  rigid  as  a  ramrod. 
With  a  hare,  I  was  upstanding,  my  tail  trembling 
like  an  aspen  leaf.  When  the  hare  broke  away 
I  y/ould,  in  spite  of  all  warning,  spring  after  her  like 


Diomed 


11 


an  arrow,  heedless  of  shout  and  whistle.  Finally, 
master  ceased  to  warn,  ceased  to  whistle,  ceased 
shouting.  He  let  me  rush  in,  and  when  I  had 
gained  sufficient  distance  to  avoid  serious  injury,  he 
would  simply  discharge  a  load  of  number  ten  shot 
at  my  retreating  torm  in  a  manner  that  would  make 
me  think  I  had  run  into  a  beehive.  Two  or  three 
doses  of  this   kind  effectually  cured   me  of  rabbit- 


4\in^^^tlif^l 


Jack  Rabbits. 

chasing.  Still,  to  the  last,  when  she  made  her  start 
I  never  could  resist  giving  one  or  two  high  buck- 
jumps  expressive  of  my  intense  love  of  rabbit,  and 
to  speed  her  on  her  journey. 

Knowing  my  weakness,  master  had  great  sport 
at  my  expense  on  our  first  Minnesota  trip.  I  had 
never  seen  or  heard  of  a  Jack  rabbit.  Now  nobody 
who  has  not  seen  a  Jack  rabbit  has  any  idea  of  his 
size  or  his  speed.  They  are  as  large  as  a  terrier 
dog ;   and,  as   I   know  to  my  sorrow,  are  so  much 


11  DIomed 

faster  than  a  dog,  that  none  but  a  greyhound  can 
overhaul  them. 

The  first  day  we  hunted  in  Minnesota,  a  Jack 
rabbit  sprung  before  me.  I  recognized  his  form 
as  that  of  my  favorite  game,  but  he  seemed  to  me, 
from  his  size,  to  be  the  father  of  all  the  rabbits 
I  had  ever  seen  before. 

When  I  first  put  him  up  he  did  not  break  away 
like  my  old  friend  "Molly  Cottontail,"  but  he  gave 
two  or  three  awkward  shambling  lopes,  and  then 
lifted  himself  up  on  his  hind  legs  which  seemed 
much  too  long  for  him.  Of  course,  I  was  all 
excitement.  To  my  surprise,  master,  instead  of 
uttering  a  caution,  cried,  "  Catch  him,  Di  !  catch 
him  !  "  Never  suspecting  the  joke,  I  made  a  dash 
for  the  Jack  rabbit.  Seeing  me  coming,  with  one 
bound  he  was  off,  looking,  as  he  ran,  like  a  gray 
streak  on  the  prairie.  I  was  a  very  speedy  dog, 
but  the  way  that  rabbit  opened  up  a  gap  between 
us  made  me  feel  as  if  I  was  standing  still.  We 
rushed  towards  a  depression.  He  crossed  so  far  in 
advance  of  me  that  he  actually  reached  the  opposite 
swell  of  the  prairie  while  I  was  in  the  little  trough, 
and  then  he  sat  up  on  his  hind  legs,  took  a  little 
rest,  and  looked  back  at  me  to  see  how  I  was  com- 
ing on.  Desperate,  I  rushed  upon  him,  only  to  see 
him  put  on  another  burst  of  speed,  and  sit  up  on 
another  hill  to  look  back  at  me  far  behind.  After 
one  or  two  more  of  these  frantic  rushes  and  failures 
I  gave  it  up  ;  and  as  I  trotted  back,  winded  and 
sheepish,  I  realized  master's  joke  when  he  cried  out, 
"  Di,  you  may  chase  that  kind  of  rabbit  all  you 
wish."      I    saw   many    another    Jack    rabbit   in   my 


Diomed  23 

western  hunting,  but  nobody  ever  saw  me  try  to 
catch  another. 

Like  men  who  seldom  realize  their  pet  ambitions, 
I  never  had  but  one  day  of  my  favorite  sport  to  my 
complete  satisfaction  in  my  whole  hunting  career. 
That  occurred  when  I  was  about  six  years  old. 
Master  left  me  with  Mr.  Selden,  a  gentleman  of 
whom  I  shall  say  much  hereatter.  A  party  of 
friends  were  visiting  Mr.  Selden  for  the  purpose 
of  shooting  quail.  Of  course  I  was  counted  on  as 
one  of  their  best  dogs.  During  the  night  a  snow- 
storm put  quail-hunting  out  of  the  question.  The 
entire  party  thereupon  determined  to  go  hare-hunt- 
ing together,  and  for  that  purpose  they  secured 
about  a  dozen  hounds  and  curs,  and  went  to  a  place 
called  Elk  Hill  where  hares  were  very  plentiful. 
Dick,  Mr.  Selden's  favorite  dog,  was  carefully 
chained,  but  by  some  oversight,  I  was  left  free. 
Soon  after  the  party  rode  off  I  heard  a  shot,  and 
following  the  direction,  succeeded  in  joining  them 
when  they  were  too  far  from  home  to  take  me  back. 
Mr.  Selden  well  knew  how  master  objected  to  my 
rabbit-hunting,  and,  indeed,  he  himself  never  per- 
mitted his  setter  Dick  to  indulge  In  it.  But  men 
are  never  as  careful  of  other  people's  dogs  as  of 
their  own,  and  so  they  permitted  me  to  toUow 
the  party.  I  did  not  associate  with  the  half-bred 
hounds  or  curs,  of  course ;  but  I  had  a  nose  so 
much  better  than  theirs,  that  when  the  rabbit-hunt- 
ing did  begin,  I  found  more  than  halt  of  all  that 
were  killed. 

The  warm  sun  had  come  out  and  melted  the 
snow  in  many  spots,  and  the  conditions  tor  scent- 


^4 


Dionied 


ing  were  really  extraordinary.  I  never  saw  as  many 
rabbits  as  we  found  that  day.  Every  restraint  im- 
posed when  hunting  birds  was  abandoned.  The 
men  harked  and  cheered  the  dogs  ;  the  dogs  filled 
the  air  with  their  clamor;  and  such  whooping,  and 
chasing,  and  shooting  I  never  heard  or  saw,  before 
or  since.  I  was  in  the  thick  ot  it  from  start  to 
finish,  and  all  the  sportsmen,  Mr.  Selden  included, 
pronounced  me  a  great  success  as  a  "  har'  dog." 
We  bagged  about  fifty  hares  that  afternoon.  Mr. 
Selden  thought  it  a  great  joke,  but  master  was  furi- 
ous with  him,  and  with  me  too,  about  it.  But  pri- 
vately, I  do  not  believe  it  injured  me  in  any  way. 

During  my  first  autumn  at  Mr.  Turner's,  I  really 
did  little  hunting  worth  recording.      In  the  early  fall 

he  allowed  me 
to  follow  him 
on  excursions 
after  the  beau- 
tiful summer 
ducks  which 
were  found  in 
that  section. 
He  taught  me 
how  to  sneak 
close  behind 
him,  as  he  stole 
upon  them 
while  they  fed. 
And  here  it  was  I  acquired  the  fondness  tor  retriev- 
ing from  water,  which  has  many  a  day  enabled  master 
to  enrich  his  bag  with  birds  which,  with  other  dogs, 
less   fond   of  water,  would   have   floated   down   the 


Summer   Duck. 


DIomed 


'^5 


stream.  To  this  retrieving  trom  water  I  attribute 
the  annoying  rheumatism  with  which  I  am  now 
afflicted;  and,  on  two  occasions,  it  came  near  costing 
me  my  life,  as  you  will  hear. 

I  learned  to  point  and  to  retrieve  quail  fairly  well 
in  the  season  of  1883-84,  although  still  a  puppy; 
and  when  mas- 
ter came  dow  n 
that  summer  to 
see  me  I  gave 
both  him  andmv 
teacher  a  pleas- 
ant surprise. 

We  walked 
out  together  that 
master  might 
form  some  idea 
of  my  speed  and 
range.  I  was  in 
fine     form,    and 

did  my  best.  After  ranging  a  stubble-field  we  came 
home  by  a  pathway  that  led  past  a  boggy  piece  of 
ground  filled  with  large  dockweeds  and  terns.  An 
old  barrel  had  been  sunk  at  a  spring,  and  a  pretty 
pink  conch  shell  w'as  used  for  a  dipper.  Master 
and  Mr.  Turner  paused  at  the  spring,  and  I  ran  in 
to  the  place  where  the  brook  formed,  to  lie  down 
and  lap  the  clear  water.  Just  as  I  approached  the 
spring  I  saw  a  peculiar  bird,  unlike  any  I  had  ever 
seen  before,  tilting  and  boring  in  the  sott  ooze. 
He  was  so  near  to  me  that,  lest  I  flush  him,  I 
dropped  flat  on  the  ground,  and  there  I  remained, 
although    I    heard   master  and    Mr.  Turner  calling 


Woodcock. 


26 


DIomed 


me.  There  they  found  me.  Master  shot  the  bird; 
but  before  he  did  so  he  made  a  sketch  of  me  which 
I  present  you  here. 


On  Woodcock. 

This  was  my  first  introduction  to  the  sportsman's 
favorite,  the  American  woodcock,  and  I  think  this 
unexpected  opportunity  to  show  master  what  I  could 
do  on  game,  was  one  of  the  most  gratitying  episodes 
of  my  hfe. 

I  am  satisfied  mv  good  kind  teacher  would  not 
have  taken  a  large  sum  of  money  for  the  exhibition 
I  made  of  myself. 

During  the  early  fall  of  1884,  being  now  old 
enough  for  serious  work,  I  was  taken  out  several 
times  by  my  preceptor  to  learn  how  to  find  and 
point  quail.  I  had  grown  very  tall  and  muscular 
from  life  and  exercise  in  the  country,  and  no  longer 
felt  dependent  upon  Mab.  I  think  mv  teacher  was 
greatly  surprised  at  the  dashing  way  in  which  I  took 
fences  and  ditches,  barely  touching  the  topmost  rail  of 
the  fence,  and  quartering  my  ground  with  great  spirit. 


DIomed  27 

More  than  once  during  my  puppyhood  I  had 
seen  Mah  find  quail,  and  during  the  summer,  she 
and  I,  in  our  many  rambles,  had  several  times  put 
up  birds,  young  and  old.  The  delicious  scent  had 
become  familiar  to  me;  but  never  until  the  grasses 
had  been  nipped  by  frost,  and  the  crisp  autumn  had 
toned  up  and  invigorated  every  fibre  ot  my  frame, 
had  I  fully  realized  the  consuming  passion  ot  quail- 
hunting. 

Quails  were  not  over  plentiful  in  our  neighbor- 
hood, but  enough  were  there  still  to  make  the  quest 
interesting.  I  never  thought,  in  those  days,  that 
I  would  live  to  see  them  almost  exterminated  in 
Virginia,  as  they  have  been  by  the  severe  winters 
of  the  last  two  years. 

Master  had  notified  my  teacher  that  he  would 
need  me  in  the  latter  part  of  October,  and  he  doubt- 
less felt  a  pride  in  delivering  me  well  founded  in 
the  rudiments  ot  my  education.  It  was  a  beautiful 
October  morning.  The  air  was  keen,  the  sun 
shone  brightly  ;  the  maples  and  the  hickory  filled 
the  landscape  with  crimson  and  gold.  Through 
the  laden  orchards,  and  the  brown  stubble,  we  took 
our  course.  On  the  fresh  breeze  came,  at  last,  that 
exhilarating  efiiuvia  in  search  of  which  the  best  and 
happiest  hours  of  my  life  have  been  spent.  First 
faint,  then  stronger,  and  a  moment  later  so  intense 
that  every  fibre  ot  my  frame  was  filled  with  quiv- 
ering excitement.  In  dashing  circles,  then  with 
shortening  steps,  then  with  gradually  freezing  creep, 
I  followed  where  this  scent  led  me  —  out  of  the 
open  stubble,  into  the  yellow  sedge;  and  just  as 
I   reached  a  pretty  bunch  ot   pink  deer-berries  bv 


28 


Dlomed 


a  little  green  pine  bush,  I  felt  myselt  become  rigid 
in  every  muscle,  and  stood,  with  forefoot  half  up- 
lifted, eyes  protruding,  body  crouching,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  my  first  covey  cf  the  gamest  little  bird  on 
earth,  the  "Bob  White." 

Even  to  this  day  I  can  recall  the  anxious,  earnest 
look  of  my  mute  companion  as  he  drew  near  to  me 
and  stopped,  that  I  might  fully  understand  my  duty 


First   Point  to  Gun. 


to  hold  my  point  until  I  was  ordered  on.  I  knew 
that  well  enough.  It  seemed  an  eternity  before  he 
advanced.  The  birds  had  been  sunning  and  dust- 
ing themselves  near  the  little  pine.  They  now  saw 
me,  ran  together  with  a  low  twittering  sound,  and 
as  Mr.  Turner  stepped  forward,  up  they  went  with 
a  whirr.  At  sound  of  the  gun  a  bird  fell.  I  rushed 
towards  it  —  found  it  only  wing-tipped  —  chased  it 
under  a  tuft  of  broom  sedge  —  rooted  it  out  —  and, 
seizing  it  in  my  mouth,  trotted  back  to  Mr.  Turner. 


Diomed  29 

It  would  be  hard  to  decide  which  of  us  felt  the 
greatest  sense  of  triumph  in  that  supreme  moment. 
To  me  came  the  full  reaHzation  of  tkoae  joys  so 
often  pictured  to  me  in  mv  puppyhood  by  mother; 
to  him  the  exultant  feeling  that  he  had  a  pupil 
worthy  of  his  patience  and  his  care.  We  followed 
the  scattered  birds,  but  I  was  not  yet  skilled  in  their 
pursuit.  I  was  in  search  of  another  covey,  not  real- 
izing, what  I  afterwards  learned,  that  the  best  dog 
is  the  one  that  points  the  single  birds  after  the  covey 
has  been  scattered.  I  found  several,  but  fear  I  was 
not  altogether  staunch,  and  could  not  resist  chasing 
them  a  little  way.  For  this,  at  last,  I  received  a 
good  switching,  and,  persisting  in  it,  Mr.  Turner  at 
last  attached  a  cord  to  my  collar.  When  1  next 
pointed  he  sec.ired  the  end  of  the  cord.  When  the 
bird  rose  I  started  a  chase,  but  was  jerked  so  vio- 
lently when  I  reached  the  length  of  the  cord  that 
I  turned  a  somersault.  This  made  me  understand 
I  was  not  to  chase,  and  by  the  time  evening  came  I 
no  longer  offended. 

When,  a  few  days  later,  I  was  shipped  to  Rich- 
mond, my  kind  friend  patted  me  and  caressed  me 
with  great  tenderness,  and  tied  to  my  collar  this 
note  to  master. 

"Dear  Friend,  —  I  return  Di  bv  the  baggage- 
man as  requested.  He  was  too  young  to  hunt  last 
fall.  This  year  the  season  is  so  young  he  has  had 
but  little  training  in  the  field.  But  he  is  thoroughly 
house  broken;  retrieves;  is  staunch  on  point;  and 
with  a  little  good  work  on  birds,  will  be  all  riirht. 
In  him  you   have  everything  you   could   hope  for, 


30  Diomed 

—  strength,  health,  nose,  speed,  endurance,  intelli- 
gence, and  the  most  attractive  joyous  disposition  I 
ever  saw  in  a  dog.  I  part  with  him  as  if  I  bade 
good-by  to  the  most  amiable  and  affectionate 
friend  I  have  had  in  many  years.  Take  care  of 
him.      He  is  a  treasure." 

Now,  probably  I  am  vain  to  publish  this.  Yes, 
I  am.  But  I  loved  mv  old  teacher,  and  have  pre- 
served this  testimonial  with  great  care.  I  look 
back  to  my  life  in  his  family,  and  to  my  early  ex- 
cursions with  Mab,  as  among  life's  happiest  experi- 
ences. 

That  night  I  reached  home,  after  an  absence  of 
over  twelve  months.  A  royal  welcome  awaited  me. 
The  first  birds  I  had  stood  accompanied  me.  After 
supper  I  had  their  bones.  Then  we  all  had  a  romp 
in  the  nursery. 

The  children  taught  me  to  sit  up  on  the  table. 
Eva  put  her  little  hood  on  me;  Hugh  pinned 
Mammy's  shawl  around  me;  Jack  put  a  lead  pencil 
in  my  mouth,  and  Mammy's  spectacles  on  my 
nose;  Henry  lifted  one  paw,  and  put  a  cane  under 
it;  and  then  they  called  master  in  to  see  this  exhi- 
bition. 

The  children  thought  it  very  wonderful  incieed. 
They  made  me  bark  for  my  food,  catch  bread,  bal- 
ance it  on  mv  nose  and  snap  at  the  signal,  shut  the 
door,  sit  up,  jump  over  a  stick,  and  I  don't  know 
what  else.  I  loved  them,  and  enjoyed  the  sport  as 
much  as  thev  did.  I  had  no  difficulty  whatever  in 
learning,  for  in  the  long  winter  nights  I  had  spent 
with    my    bachelor    mute    tViend,  we    otten    played 


Dioniccl 


31 


together,  and  I  had  become  better  acquainted  with 
him  than  with  my  own  kind. 

Oh,  those  happy  days  of  youth  ! 

Ouch  !  thinking  of  them,  I  wrenched  the  shoulder 
I  sprained  in  Florida. 


Two  years  old. 


Chapter   III 

(1884) 
A  Trip    through   the   Mountains  —  Ruffed    Grouse 


HEN  I  reached  home  master  had 
but  recently  returned  from  prairie-chicken  shooting 
in  Minnesota,  He  was  preparing  for  a  pohtical 
campaigning  tour  in  the  mountains  of  southwest 
Virginia.  It  was  the  presidential  year.  He  seemed 
so  much  engrossed  with  talking  about  the  candidates 
that  I  began  to  fear  I  would  be  neglected,  and  I 
bore  this  less  patiently  because  his  accounts  of  the 
great  shooting  he  had  in  the  West  made  me  exceed- 
ingly eager  for  field-work. 

You  may  be  sure  I  was  halt  trantic  with  delight 
when  he  determined  to  make  his  campaigning  tour 

3^ 


Diomed  37 

on  horseback,  take  his  gun,  and  aUow  me  to  accom- 
pany him.  I  had  never  seen  the  mountains.  Some- 
times, afterwards,  in  those  long  rides,  I  fear  my  ardor 
was  considerably  cooled,  for  master  traversed  over 
three  hundred  miles  on  horseback,  and  I  am  sure 
I  covered  twice  that  space.  It  was  a  fine  opportu- 
nitv  for  us  to  become  acquainted.  Oftentimes  we 
travelled  many  miles  together  with  no  companion, 
and  I  always  occupied  the  room  with  master.  The 
hard  roads  and  the  limestone  water  toughened  my 
feet  and  toned  up  my  constitution,  I  have  no  doubt. 
Our  trip  consumed  three  weeks.  The  country 
through  which  we  travelled  was  beautiful,  but  very 
rough.  The  people  were  a  study.  Many  of  them 
had  never  seen  a  setter  dog  or  shot-gun  before. 
They  have  only  rifles  and  hounds.  Sometimes  at 
the  public  meetings  where  master  spoke,  both  I  and 
the  gun  were  examined  as  curiosities.  Master  wore 
his  velveteen  hunting  coat  and  corduroy  trousers. 
Some  of  the  mountaineers  took  offence  at  his  dress- 
ing in  that  fashion  and  fetching  me  along.  One 
quite  prominent  member  of  his  party  told  master 
he  would  not  vote  as  he  wished,  and  when  pressed 
for  his  reasons  said  :  "  Because  yer  cum  throo  here 
with  a  long-har'd  dog  and  a  scatter-gun,  and  dressed 
like  a  ditcher ;  and  1  don't  think  that  is  shown'  our 
people  proper  respect.  You  know  you  wouldn't 
er  done  it  in  the  East." 

Your  mountaineer  has  a  contempt  for  the  sports- 
man who  shoots  game  with  anything  but  a  bullet. 
He  looks  upon  the  "scatter-gun"  as  a  toy,  and  all 
dogs  but  hounds  are  classed  by  him  as  curs. 

Small  game  was  not  very  plentitul  in  southwest- 
p 


34  Diomed 

ern  Virginia.      In  my  ranging   through  the  forests 
through  which  our  road  lay,  I  often  saw  gray  and 
red    squirrels.      Occasionally,    master    would    shoot 
one  as  he  peeped  at  us  around  some  noble  moun- 
tain-oak  or   ash,    but    I    re- 
garded this  class  of  game  as 
beneath    my    dignity.      One 
day,  as  we  passed  over  Wal- 
len's   Ridge  which  separates 
the    counties    of    Wise    and 
Russell,  I   suddenly  discov- 
ered among  the  spruce  leaves 
a   most   delicious    scent,  —  a 
scent  not  unlike  that  ot  the 
quail,    but    much    stronger. 
I  became  much  excited,  and 
dashing  forward  with  enthu- 
siasm   put    up    a    flock    of 
strange  birds.     Not  since  my 
first  experience  on  the  rail- 
road   had    I    heard    such    a 
noise.       Master    saw    them, 
and  marked  their  course.      I 
was     thrown     back     on     my 
haunches  the  picture  ot  sur- 
prise.    This   was,  indeed,  a 
new    experience.      The    birds    were    the    beautiful 
ruffed   grouse;  called    by   some   of   the  inhabitants 
"  pattridge,"    and    by    others    "  pheasant."      Master 
tells    me  there  is   no  such  thing  as  a  partridge  or 
a   pheasant   among   American   birds.     The    nearest 
approach    to    the    partridge    is    the    "  Bob    White." 
His  true  name,  he  says,  is  colin  ;   but  nobody  calls 


Dionied  35 

him  that.  All  the  so-called  American  pheasants 
are  different  varieties  ot  the  grouse  tamilv,  and  the 
California  birds,  sometimes  called  partridge,  are 
really  valley  quail  and  mountain  quail. 

Master  made  his  horse  fast  to  a  neighboring  dog- 
wood tree,  and  calling  me  to  him,  tied  me  to  a  long 
string.  I  thought  this  bad  treatment,  but  I  soon  found 
that  in  order  to  approach  these  wary  birds  I  must 
abandon  mv  reckless  way  of  galloping  about  as  I 
did  after  quail,  and  trot  here  and  there  cautiously. 
I  think  my  present  pace,  at  the  age  ot  twelve,  fits  me 
pre-eminently  for  this  class  of  work.  I  wish  I  lived 
in  the  mountains  now,  for  my  passion  tor  hunting 
is  unabated  ;  but  I  no  longer  have  the  stride  or  the 
endurance  so  requisite  for  quail-hunting.  It  morti- 
fied me  greatly  last  season  to  see  my  son,  "  Young 
Di,"  so  much  faster  and  tougher  than  myselt. 
Nor  is  master  as  tough  as  he  was.  1  think  he 
ought  to  let  young  master,  who  is  now  an  army 
officer,  take  young  Di,and  that  master  and  I  should 
return  to  the  mountains  of  southwest  Virginia,  and 
potter  about  in  a  quiet  way  after  rufled  grouse. 
But  after  all,  the  hills  we  climbed  that  day,  tollow- 
ing  that  scattered  covey,  might  appear  very  difierent 
now  to  both  of  us. 

Notwithstanding  the  precautions  taken  to  make 
me  work  close  and  cautiously,  we  came  suddenly 
upon  the  birds,  a  second  time,  about  two  hundred 
yards  away.  They  had  run  together  after  alighting, 
and  rose  at  considerable  distance.  Master  fired 
at  them  without  effect.  His  purpose,  as  he  ex- 
plained, was  to  alarm  them,  and  make  them  not 
only  scatter,  but  lie  to  the  dog,  vyhen  found  again. 


36  Diomed 

I  began  to  understand  my  business  now,  and 
being  released  from  my  string,  tipped  cautiously 
about  hither  and  thither,  and  found,  and  pointed, 
several  of  the  birds.  The  cover  was  so  thick  master 
only  succeeded  in  securing  two  ;  but  he  and  I  were 
very  proud  of  our  work.  The  birds  looked  very 
handsome  hanging  from  his  saddle-bow  when  we 
rode  into   Lebanon,  the  county  seat  of  Russell. 

The  political  meeting  master  was  to  address  had 
been  assembled  for  some  time.  The  county  super- 
intendent of  our 
party  was  dis- 
posed to  be  bad 
tempered  about 
our  long  delay, 
and  told  master 
he  must  give  up 
politics,  or  hunt- 
ing, one  or  the 
other.  Master 
n  ^-,  ^  lauehed,  and  said 

Kutied   Grouse.  ^  ., 

he  thought  ir  re- 
duced to  that  alternative,  he  would  give  up  politics. 

We  repeated  our  experience  with  ruffeci  grouse 
several  times  during  our  travels.  I  was  never  tired 
of  hunting  in  those  days.  Generally,  we  arose  very 
early,  often  breakfasting  by  candle-light  Then  we 
would  travel  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  through  the 
mountains  to  some  appointed  place  for  speaking; 
and  alter  the  meeting  push  on  until  dark,  in  the 
direction  of  the  next  meeting. 

One  day,  in  Lee  County,  on  the  very  top  of 
a  high  ridge,  in  a  buckwheat  field,  I   found  a  bevy 


Diomed  37 

of  quail.  Master  would  not  believe  me  at  first; 
but  as  I  refused  to  move,  he  dismounted.  I  think 
he  expected  to  see  a  hare  bounce  ;  but  they  were 
real  quail,  and  he  shot  three  or  tour  of  them  before 
we  left  them.  It  was  hard  work  killing  them,  for 
thev  were  cunning  enough  to  dart  down  the  moun- 
tain side  instead  of  flving  upward,  and  that  makes 
the  most  trving  sort  of  shooting.  I  think  that 
where  one  bird  tell  it  must  have  been  a  hundred 
yards  below  where  master  stood.  Climbing  back 
to  him  with  that  bird  in  my  mouth  was  about  as 
exhausting  work  as  one  could  wish. 

Latelv,  I  found  a  letter  which  master  wrote  home 
about  me  on  that  trip.  I  prize  it  greatly.  I  am 
not  ashamed  to  print  the  extracts  referring  to  my- 
self. What  was  said  was  not  intended  tor  flattery, 
and  the  good  opinion  of  his  master  is  what  an  hon- 
orable dog  lives  tor. 

"  I  must  tell  vou  about  Di.  I  am  so  glad  I 
brought  him.  I  never  saw  anything  like  his  endur- 
ance or  his  speed.  He  is  as  fresh  to-day  as  he  was 
the  iirst  day  we  started,  although  we  have  now  trav- 
elled 216  miles.  The  dog  is  the  most  companion- 
able creature  I  ever  saw.  He  seems  to  have  human 
intelligence.  1  teach  him  some  new  trick  every  day, 
and  he  is  an  endless  source  of  amusement  to  the 
children  at  every  house  where  I  stop.  One  would 
expect  him  to  be  tired  out  at  night ;  but  Di  seems 
to  appreciate  that  he  must  make  himself  agreeable 
to  his  hosts,  and  he  is  never  too  tired  for  tun.  I 
believe  that  after  twenty-four  hours'  experience  he 
can  learn  to  hunt  any  sort  of  game  in  the  world. 
As  I  ride  along  the  mountain  sides,  I  can  see  him 


38  Diomed 

forging  along  in  the  valleys  below,  sometimes  half 
a  mile  away.  He  has  a  wonderful  stride,  and  his 
endurance  seems  to  be  without  limit.  One  day  last 
week,  going  like  a  steamboat,  he  rushed  into  the 
midst  of  a  covey  of  ruffed  grouse.  You  should 
have  seen  this  puppy,  only  eighteen  months  old, 
thrown  back  on  his  haunches,  with  his  head  turned 
back  towards  me.  His  appearance  was  as  expres- 
sive of  surprise  and  perplexity  as  if  he  had  been 
able  to  cry  out,  '  What  in  the  world  are  these .? 
I  never  heard  of  them  before  !  I  am  really  sorry 
I  did  it !  ' 

"  I  tied  him  with  a  string,  and  followed  up  the 
birds,  warning  him  to  be  cautious.  In  five  min- 
utes he  took  in  the  whole  situation.  His  manner 
and  bearing  changed  completely.  He  moved  about 
as  slowly  and  as  cautiously  as  an  old  dog,  and  stood 
bird  after  bird  like  a  veteran.  I  have  shot  quite 
a  number  of  pheasant  over  him.  Wish  I  could 
have  sent  them  to  you,  but  we  are  too  far  from  the 
railroad.  I  could  teach  Di  to  tree  squirrels  in  two 
days,  but  at  present  he  simply  sets  his  head  side- 
ways, and  seems  amused  at  them. 

"  I  must  tell  you  of  a  little  episode  this  morning. 
It  is  Sunday.  The  people  out  here  are  very  par- 
ticular about  Sunday  observance  ;  so  I  concluded  not 
to  travel  to-day,  but  give  my  horse  and  myself  a  rest. 
Generally,  we  rise  very  early,  and  are  on  the  road 
by  7:30  to  8  o'clock.  Di  is  always  the  first  to  wake, 
and  has  a  number  of  ways,  taught  him,  doubtless,  by 
Turner.  His  first  step  is  to  come  and  sit  by  my 
bed.  Then  he  goes  and  sits  by  the  wash-stand  until 
I  pour  him  out  a  drink  of  water.      Then  he  goes  to 


Diomed 


39 


the  door,  and  scratches.  I  let  him  out,  and  in  about 
five  minutes  he  is  back  scratching  the  outside  of 
the  door,  and  so  on,  with  his  everlasting  energy 
and  life. 

"This  mornincT  the  servant  made  up  our  fire 
very  early.  1  remained  in  bed.  Di  took  the  servant 
through  the  watering  process,  letting  him  out,  and 
letting  him  in  again,  and  when  the  servant  left,  I 
was  congratulating  myself  on  a  good  Sunday  morn- 
ing snooze  in  delicious  contrast  with  w^eek-dav  early 
rising.  Di  did  not  understand  the  arrangement. 
He  was  eager  to  be  off  hunting.  First  he  sat  be- 
fore the  crackling  fire  very  contemplative.  Then 
he  moved  over,  and  sat  near  my  head,  every  now 
and  then  whimpering,  and  putting  one  foot  on  my 
pillow.  I  slapped  at  him,  and  told  him  to  clear 
out.  He  moved  back,  and  sat  looking  in  the  fire. 
I  had  lett  mv  socks  hanging  over  night  on  one  of 
the  rungs  ot  a  chair.  I  saw  Di  o^o  over  to  the  chair, 
and  take  them  in  his  mouth.  Holding  them,  he 
trotted  back  to  my  bedside,  and  sat  himself  down 
just  out  of  reach  of  me.  Everv  few  seconds  he 
would  whimper,  and  give  a  short  bark.  It  was 
amusing  to  see  him  trving  to  bark  and  hold  the 
socks  in  his  mouth  at  the  same  time.  Thinking 
to  break  him  up,  I  reached  for  the  socks,  and  put 
them  under  the  pillow.  Would  vou  believe  it  ? 
The  rascal  sprung  on  the  bed,  seized  the  covering 
in  his  mouth,  pulled  it  back,  and  thrusting  his  nose 
in  my  face  and  under  my  armpits,  began  the  game 
of  teasing  and  tickling  me  to  force  me  to  get  up, 
just  as  I  plav  with  the  children  at  home. 

"  Truly,  he  is  the  most  remarkable  animal  I  ever 


40  Diomed 

saw.  I  feel  that  as  long  as  Di  is  alive  I  will  never 
need  another  dog  for  any  sort  of  hunting." 

The  intimacy  and  perfect  understanding  which 
sprung  up  on  this  trip  between  master  and  myself 
has  been  of  great  service  to  us  both  through  all  the 
after  years. 

I  do  not  believe  any  man  and  dog  can  really 
know  each  other  thoroughly  unless  they  sleep  to- 
gether for  some  time. 

We  reached  home  early  in  November.  The 
children  were  rejoiced  to  see  me.  Of  course,  all 
my  new  accomplishments  were  displayed  to  them. 
The  thing  that  amused  them  most  was  to  see  me 
retrieve  master's  bunch  of  keys  out  of  the  rain 
barrel.  I  did  not  like  it.  One  day,  down  on 
Clinch  River,  master  dropped  his  clasp  knife  in 
the  ford.  The  water  was  clear,  and  I  retrieved  it. 
He  thought  it  a  great  feat.  When  we  reached 
home  he  threw  the  bunch  of  keys  in  the  half- 
filled  water  barrel.  I  plunged  down  head  first, 
and  brought  them  up.  The  children  went  into 
ecstasies  at  mv  absurd  struggles  to  scramble  out 
backwards.  I  had  my  satisfaction  by  shaking 
the  water  off  my  head  and  shoulders  upon  them. 
Master  feared  this  practise  would  injure  my  hear- 
ing, and  soon  stopped  it. 

Election  day,  1884,  November  4th,  is  a  red- 
letter  day  in   my  diary. 

Master  and  a  friend  made  up  the  first  all-day 
hunt  after  quail  that  I  ever  had.  We  were  photo- 
graphed that  day,  and  I  give  you  the  picture  taken 
while  we  were  waiting  for  our  shooting  com- 
panion. 


42  Diomed 

We  started  as  soon  as  the  men  had  voted.  The 
delay  seemed  absurd  to  me  for  they  voted  against 
each  other.  So  their  votes  went  for  nothing.  But 
they  both  insisted  on  voting,  and  then  laughed  in 
each  other's  faces.  Dogs,  similarly  situated,  would 
not  have  acteei  so  absurdly.  We  drove  rapidlv  up 
the  James  River  road  to  the  Westham  plantation, 
and  hunted  thence  to  a  place  called  Powell's  Tavern. 
Mr.  Miller,  master's  friend,  was  a  fine  shot.  The 
other  dogs  were  our  two  pointers,  Tom  and  Beulah 
II.  Beulah  and  I  were  warm  friends,  but  old  Tom 
was  one  of  the  surliest,  most  conceited  old  brutes 
it  was  ever  my  misfortune  to  be  thrown  with.  He 
was  getting  old,  and  had  a  splint  or  the  gout  on  one 
of  his  feet.  He  presumed  on  his  age  in  everv  wav, 
and  he  was  such  a  pig  about  his  food  that  nobody 
else  had  half  a  chance  when  he  was  about.  Master 
and  everybody  said  Tom  had  a  remarkably  fine 
nose,  and  I  know  he  had  ;  but  I  did  not  consider 
that  nose  everything;  and  when  it  came  to  ranging 
and  endurance  old  Tom  was  not  in  the  race  with 
me.  Beulah  and  I  had  no  trouble  whatever  riding 
in  the  bottom  of  the  vehicle,  but  Tom  was  growl- 
ing, and  snapping,  and  jowering  with  somebody  all 
the  way  out  and  back.  You  would  have  laughed 
at  one  of  the  mistakes  Tom  made.  Master  had 
crowded  me  upon  Tom  in  a  way  which  I  could  not 
help.  Old  Tom  shuffled  about,  and  growled,  and 
quarrelled  until  I  succeeded  in  moving  away.  Mas- 
ter's leg  took  the  place  which  I  had  just  moved 
from,  and  presently,  Tom,  being  further  hustled 
and  thinking  it  was  me,  seized  master's  boot  heel 
in  his  mouth.      Master  roared  at  him,  and  the  old 


D'lomed  43 

fellow  looked  verv  sheepish  when  he  discovered  his 
blunder.  Beuhih  and  I  were  tickled  immeasurablv. 
Beulah  told  nie  I  must  not  take  offence  at  her  father; 
that  he  was  irritable  she  knew;  but  that  with  all  his 
eccentricities  he  was  a  verv  good  dog.  I  should 
have  liked  him  better,  however,  even  it  he  had  not 
been  so  good,  it  he  had  been  less  eccentric  and  surly. 
Dogs  and  people  are  a  good  deal  alike  in  these 
respects.  Sometimes,  travelling  with  master  in  the 
smoking-car,  I  have  seen  human  beings,  who,  in 
their  conduct  towards  each  other,  reminded  me  verv 
much  of  poor  old  Tom's  behavior  to  his  travelling 
companions. 

We  had  a  fine  dav's  sport  that  dav.  We  shot 
over  the  Westham  and  Tuckahoe  tracts.  As  for 
Tom,  I  don't  believe  he  tound  a  single  covey. 
Beulah  and  I  did  that.  But  there's  no  denying, 
old  Tom  could  smell  the  scattered  birds  in  places 
which  I  passed  by. 

It  did  mv  heart  good  to  hear  the  things  Mr. 
Miller  told  master  about  me  as  we  rode  home  that 
night.  We  had  a  great  bag  of  birds,  and  quite  a  lot 
of  hares.  I  felt  pretty  stiff,  and  my  coat  was  filled 
with  cockle-burs. 

My  !  how  good  the  hot  supper  was,  and  how 
delightful  it  was  that  night,  King  stretched  on  the 
rug  in  the  library  while  the  children  searched  me  tor 
cockle-burs  ! 

I  was  fairly  installed  by  that  day's  work  as  the 
reigning  favorite. 

It  was  a  very  gratifying  thing  to  me,  following 
master  about  town,  to  hear  the  sportsmen  say,  "  Is 
that    the    young   dog    Henry    Miller   speaks    of  so 


44 


Diomed 


highly  ?  "  I  began  to  carry  my  tail  very  hio;h  ; 
and  by  way  of  showing  how  nimble  and  agile  I  was, 
I  jumped  the  front-yard  palings,  back  and  forth, 
without  touching  them,  spurning  the  open  gate. 

Human  beings  will  understand  this  feeling  no 
doubt.  We  have  all  observed  how  a  young  gentle- 
man who  had  made  a  striking  speech  in  public  soon 
after  his  return  from  college,  or  a  young  lady  who 
has  been  pronounced  a  belle  at  her  first  ball,  are 
changed  in  their  manner  and  bearing,  and  "  feel 
themselves,"  so  to  speak.  Well,  dogs  are  not  very 
different  from  humans  in  these  respects. 


Chapter   IV 

(1884) 
Serious   Work — Horseback   Hunting 


i^kS 


FEW  days  after  the  hunt  de- 
scribed in  the  last  chapter,  I 
paid  mv  first  visit  to  Snowden,  the  home  of  Mr. 
Selden,  master's  closest  friend  and  hunting  compan- 
ion for  manv  years.  My  happiest  years  have  been 
passed  in  the  company  of  these  two  men  ;  and  my 
life's  most  exciting  scenes  in  Virginia,  North  Caro- 
lina, South  Carolina,  Florida,  Texas,  and  Minnesota 
are  closely  identified  with  them  in  my  memory. 

We  arrived  at  Snowcien,  late  one  crisp,  clear 
afternoon  in  November,  by  way  of  the  James  River 
Valley    Railroad.      Mr.   Selden   was    awaiting   us  at 

45 


46  DIomed 

the  depot,  in  the  twiHght.  Our  baggage  was  soon 
tumbled  into  the  foot  of  his  capacious  dog-cart. 
I  was  stowed  away  between  the  two  men,  on  the 
front  seat ;  and  behind  a  pair  of  spirited  thorough- 
breds, we  soon  wound  up  the  steep  road,  to  the 
summit  of  the  hill  on  which  the  homestead  was 
located.  From  this  point  of  vantage,  one  has  a 
bewitching  view  of  the  valley  of  the  James.  Below 
us,  spread  out  like  a  map,  lay  the  rich  farming 
lands  known  as  the  James  River  Bottoms.  On 
their  further  edge,  meandering  beneath  the  oppo- 
site bluffs  of  Cumberland,  the  river  winds  along  its 
course  to  the  sea,  until  it  is  finally  lost  to  view  in 
a  mass  of  blue  hills  to  the  eastward,  where  it  sweeps 
northward  around  the  Rock  Castle  estate.  Look- 
ing westward,  the  old  village  of  Cartersville,  upon 
the  heights  of  Cumberland,  stood  out  in  strong 
shadow,  with  the  background  of  a  reddening  after- 
glow. Between  us  and  it  was  the  sleeping  valley, 
bounded  on  the  north  by  the  wooded  heights  of 
Goochland.  The  Cumberland  highlands  closed  in 
the  picture  to  the  west,  with  here  and  there  along 
the  horizon,  fifty  miles  away,  and  almost  mingling 
with  the  sky,  the  stray  peaks  of  the  foot-hills  of  the 
Blue  Ridge.  Behind  us,  in  billowy  masses,  were 
the  wooded  rolling  lands  of  Goochland,  furnishing 
the  quiet  home  of  game,  and  just  sufficiently  culti- 
vated to  supply  it  with  abundant  sustenance.  Of 
all  the  places  which,  during  a  long  life,  and  in  my 
varied  experiences,  I  have  visited,  this  beautitul  spot 
seemed  best  fitted  naturally  for  the  abiding-place  of 
the  turkey,  the  quail,  and  other  small  game.  Even 
in   my  own   time,  under   the   decline  ot  cultivation 


Diomed  47 

and  population,  and  with  the  increase  ot  woodland, 
the  ruri-ed  grouse  have  greatly  increased  in  numbers 
there. 

The  house  at  which  the  panting  horses  stopped, 
after  their  long  toil  up  the  hill,  was  the  model  home 
of  a  Viririnian  sportsman.  It  was  a  large,  double, 
brick  mansion  of  unpretentious  style,  standing  in 
the  midst  of  sheltering  trees,  upon  the  summit  ot 
a  commanding  hill.  Everything  about  it  bespoke 
comfort  without  luxury,  refinement  without  preten- 
sion, competency  without  wealth.  From  one  side 
or  the  other  of  the  enclosure  about  the  house,  the 
proprietor  could  look  over  the  whole  of  his  planta- 
tion of  a  thousand  acres.  Looking  southward,  the 
fertile  lowlands  spread  away  to  the  distant  river ; 
to  the  east,  and  west,  and  north  were  his  highland 
possessions,  dotted  here  and  there  with  the  homes 
of  his  servants,  his  barns,  and  his  stables. 

From  the  low  grounds,  the  grove  and  chimneys 
of  Snowden  are  visible  for  many  miles,  and  many  is 
the  evening,  that  far  away,  as  night  closed  upon  us, 
I  have  watched  the  twinkling  lights  of  the  Snowden 
homestead;  and  wearied  with  a  full  day's  sport,  have 
longed  to  be  by  its  bright  fireside,  wistfully  calcu- 
lating the  distance  as  we  jogged  homeward  in  the 
afterglow. 

As  the  wheels  of  our  vehicle  scraped  the  carriage 
block,  the  doors  were  thrown  wide  open,  and  a  flood 
of  welcome  light  gleamed  out  upon  us.  Down  the 
steps  came  Booker,  the  colored  butler,  with  bare 
head,  and  smiling  welcome,  to  take  in  the  luggage 
and  the  gun  boxes.  Behind  him,  upon  the  portico, 
stood  a  group  of  smiling  children  ;  and  around,  and 


'■"■Ji 


Dionied  49 

about  us,  with  wagging  tails  and  sniffing  noses,  came 
the  setters  and  pointers  of  Mr.  Selden's  kennels. 
There  was  Mac,  his  English  setter ;  and  Frolic,  his 
Irish  gyp.  These  were  his  old  reliables.  There 
was  Ponto,  the  pointer ;  and  Dick  and  Gus,  his 
setter  pups.  All  these  new  acquaintances  pro- 
ceeded to  smell  me,  and  look  me  over  in  the  most 
unceremonious,  but  not  unfriendly  way.  The  older 
dogs  were  more  or  less  sedate  in  their  behavior. 
A  friskv  black  and  tan  setter  pup,  not  yet  old 
enough  to  hunt,  but  saucy  in  his  bustling  curiosity, 
sprang  about  me,  rolled  over  me,  and  licked  my  face 
caressinglv.  This  was  my  introduction  to  Dicky 
Don,  a  dog  destined,  for  many  years  thereafter,  to 
be  to  me,  what  his  master  was  to  mine,  the  warmest 
and  truest  of  friends  and  shooting  companions. 

Our  host  was  a  large,  handsome,  cheery  man, 
of  strong,  vigorous  frame,  with  a  bronzed,  ruddy, 
healthy  complexion,  bespeaking  a  life  in  the  open 
air.  His  voice  and  his  welcome  were  hearty  and 
joyous,  and  his  clear  blue  eve,  under  a  strong  brow, 
had  that  peculiar  quiet  and  eager  expression  which 
belongs  to  the  dead  shot  in  the  field.  In  later 
years,  when  I  came  to  know  sportsmen  better,  I 
would  have  recognized  one  in  Mr.  Selden  at  first 
sight.  Oar  welcome  at  the  house  was  simple  and 
hearty.  As  we  reached  the  top  of  the  steps  where 
the  children  stood,  master  lifted  each  in  turn,  and 
kissed  and  petted  them,  for  he  was  verv  fond  of 
children,  and  thev  of  him.  Paying  little  attention 
to  me,  they  at  once  seized  upon  his  luggage,  and 
demanded  that  it  be  opened  then  and  there  ;  well 
knowing   that   it    contained    the    little    presents    for 


50  Diomed 

them  which  they  always  expected  when  master 
came.  Having  emptied  his  portmanteau  of  its 
treasures,  they  scampered  away  to  the  nursery,  and 
we  repaired  to  the  large  dining-room,  where  the  table 
was  already  set  for  tea,  and  a  huge  fire  crackled  on 
the  hearth.  I  say  we,  for  our  host  was  one  of  those 
sportsmen  who  allows  his  dogs  access  to  the  house, 
in  a  manner  shocking  to  the  prejudices  of  good 
housekeepers.  When  the  lady  of  the  house  pre- 
sented herself,  a  few  moments  later,  she  nearly 
tumbled  over  Mac  and  Frolic,  Dick,  Gus,  and 
myself.  The  men  repaired  to  the  capacious  side- 
board, sparkling  with  decanters  and  crushed  ice ; 
and  while  the  smoking  supper  was  being  placed 
upon  the  table,  began  discussing  the  plans  tor  the 
morrow.  The  season  had  been  rainy,  and  in  con- 
sequence, the  low  grounds  were  still  heavy.  As  we 
were  to  hunt  on  horseback,  it  was  finally  decided 
that  we  would  make  an  early  start,  and  crossing  the 
river,  hunt  upon  the  hills  in  Cumberland.  Accord- 
ingly, breakfast  and  the  horses  were  ordered  for 
7.30  A.M.  As  master  was  to  remain  but  a  short 
time,  it  was  determined  that  the  pups  should  be 
left  behind  so  that  no  sport  would  be  spoiled;  and 
Mac,  Frolic,  and  I  were  selected  as  the  string  of 
dogs  to  be  relied  on.  Accordingly,  we  were  heavily 
fed  that  night,  that  we  might  be  strong  and  fit  for 
the  long  tramp  of  to-morrow,  for  good  sportsmen 
feed  both  horses  and  dogs  lightly  on  a  hunting 
morning.  Supper  over,  the  men  had  their  game 
of  cribbage,  and  their  ju2;  of  hot  Scotch,  while  we, 
the  dogs,  lay  stretched  before  the  fire,  dreaming  of 
the  pleasures  ot   the    morrow.     At   ten  o'clock  we 


Dioined  51 

were  all  turned  out  ot  doors  to  seek  our  straw  iioxes 
in  the  area.  Master  and  Mr,  Selden  took  a  short 
walk  into  the  yiU'd  to  have  a  look  at  the  mist  that 
hung  over  the  low  grounds,  and  a  glance  at  the  sky, 
in  order  to  be  sure  ot  the  weather.  Returning  bv 
the  rear  verandah,  they  paused  tor  a  gourd  full  ot 
the  fresh  well  water  from  a  bucket  which  always 
stood  on  the  shelf  there  ;  and  then  we  heard  them 
close  the  great  doors  with  a  slam,  spring  its  bolts, 
and  tramp  heavily  upstairs  to  bed.  Silence  reigned 
over  hilltop  and  valley  on  the  good  old  plantation 
of  Snowden,  I  tell  asleep  watching  a  bright  south- 
ern star  twinkling  in  the  cold,  clear,  winter  gloom, 
above  the  blufi^s  ot  Cumberland. 

A  crowing  cock  served  the  triple  purpose  of 
awakening  me,  reminding  me  that  I  was  in  the 
country,  and  setting  me  to  thinking  of  the  joys 
ot  a  full  day's  sport.  Soon,  the  geese  that  had 
squatted  near  the  yard  gate  for  the  night,  began  to 
babble  their  little  quiet  undertalk  which  greets  the 
opening  light ;  Booker,  with  his  lantern,  returning 
from  the  stable,  where  he  had  ted  the  horses,  came 
our  way  to  open  up  the  house,  and  give  us  our  early 
feed.  A  pretty  poor  feed  I  thought  it,  atter  the 
sumptuous  tare  ot  the  night  betore.  It  was  nothing 
but  cold  corn  bread,  broken  up  in  a  pan  of  butter- 
milk, trom  which  the  chill  had  been  taken  by  warm- 
ing it  tor  a  few  moments  at  the  kitchen  tire.  I 
rather  held  aloof  trom  this.  Mac  and  Frolic  were 
veterans,  and  partook  of  it  freely.  They  knew  the 
why  and  wherefore  of  such  simple  diet.  Thev  knew 
it  would  give  them  stamina  tor  the  toils  ot  the  day 
without  making    them   sluggish  or  intertering  with 


5^  Diomed 

their  sense  of  smell ;  and  that,  when  the  day's  work 
was  done,  there  would  be  a  feast,  rendered  all  the 
more  welcome  by  this  temporary  abstinence.  Be- 
fore the  day  was  over  I  wished,  more  than  once, 
that  I  had  been  as  wise  as  they  were  ;  for  the  only 
mouthful  of  food  we  had  at  midday  was  a  bite  of 
cold  corn  bread,  and  a  few  chicken  bones  tossed  to 
us  from  the  remnants  of  the  luncheon  of  the  men. 
I  very  soon  learned,  and  have  never  forgotten  the 
lesson,  that  men  and  beasts  are  at  their  best  in  the 
hunting-field,  when  unencumbered  by  gross  food, 
or  overeating  and  drinking. 

When  I  start  out  with  a  man  who  thinks  more 
about  his  lunch-bag  than  his  cartridge-bag,  and 
carries  a  heavy  flask  of  liquor,  I  never  expect  that 
we  will  have  a  full  game-bag  at  night. 

The  sun  was  just  peeping  over  the  Rock  Castle 
hills,  making  the  glimpse  of  river  appear  like  a  sheet 
of  silver,  when  the  horses  came  to  the  door.  The 
hoar-frost  sparkled  on  every  blade  of  grass  and 
every  weed.  The  mists  still  rolled  along  the  valley 
below  us,  shutting  out  the  river  from  our  view. 
Two  quiet  saddle  horses  for  master  and  his  host 
were  held  by  a  little  darky  boy,  mounted  upon 
a  shaggy  cobby  pony.  The  great  game-bag  slung 
about  the  boy  almost  enveloped  him.  His  red 
comforter  wound  about  his  neck,  and  a  ruddy 
apple  or  two  peeping  out  of  the  network  of  the 
bag,  added  a  bit  of  color  to  his  homely,  sombre 
dress.  Saddle-bags  on  each  horse  carried  the  car- 
tridges, and  furnished  pockets  for  extra  game;  and 
strings  hung  from  the  saddle-rings  for  slinging  hares 
or  larger  game. 


Diomed  ^j 

One  or  two  joyous  leaps  at  the  horses'  heads  ex- 
pressed our  dehght  as  our  Httle  procession  moved, 
and  away  we  scampered  ahead,  as  we  started  tor  the 
bridge  at  Cartersville,  and  the  Cumberland  hitrh- 
lands  beyond. 

Our  route  tor  the  first  two  miles  was  along  the 
road  to  the  river,  and  as  the  sun  had  not  yet  melted 
the  cold  hoar-frost  on  the  rank  grasses,  and  we  knew 
the  birds  had  not  yet  moved  from  their  roosting- 
places,  we  were  content  to  potter  up  and  down  the 
roads,  often  litting  our  hind  legs  most  ridiculously 
to  avoid  the  chilling  sweep  of  the  wet  weeds.  Pass- 
ing over  the  long  high  bridge  across  the  James,  and 
ascending  the  hill  beyond,  we  traversed  the  strag- 
gling single  street  of  Cartersville,  where  the  sleepy 
inhabitants  were  just  beginning  to  move  about.  As 
one  or  two  village  curs  sat  on  the  walkways,  with 
rather  threatening  aspect,  Mac  and  I  marched  in 
Indian  file  in  front  of  the  horses,  with  heads  and 
tails  erect,  stepping  very  proudly,  and  looking 
straight  to  the  front.  Beyond  the  little  hamlet, 
the  iields  which  are  the  home  of  the  quail  opened 
up  to  our  view.  The  sun  by  this  time  was  riding 
high  in  the  heavens.  Aided  by  a  light  breeze,  it 
had  dried  up  the  wet  grasses,  and  the  birds  were 
beginning  to  move  about  so  that  we  might  locate 
them.  At  last,  turning  from  the  road  through  a 
broken  panel  of  fence  into  a  promising  field,  the 
sportsmen  bade  us  hie  away,  and  with  merry  lash- 
ing tails  we  sped  in  quest  of  the  object  of  our 
search,  covering  the  ground  like  three  race-horses. 
Poor  old  Frolic  had  suifered  a  severe  accident  a  year 
before,  which  seriously  interfered  with  her  speed  in 


54 


Diomed 


ranging,  so  that  Mac  and  I  were  far  in  advance  of 
her.  I  never  reaHzed  until  now  how  much  more 
ground  it  was  necessary  to  cover  when  the  hunts- 
men were  mounted  than  when  they  were  afoot. 
Entering  the  field,  they  would  ride  to  the  promi- 
nent points  and  along  the  hillsides,  passing  on 
rapidly  from  field  to  field,  expecting  the  dogs  to 
range  along  the  swales  in  sight  of  them.  Mac  was 
familiar  with  this  style  of  hunting,  I  was  not. 
He  seemed  to  know  by  intuition  the  likely  places 
in  every  field,  and  sped  from  one  to  another  with 
such  speed  that  I  found  it  very  difficult  to  keep 
up  with  him,  especially,  as  in  my  previous  hunting, 
followed  by  the  sportsmen  afoot,  I  had  had  time  to 
investigate  the  ground  passed  over  closely,  and  yet 
keep  in  advance.  This  habit  made  me  run  a  trail- 
ing race  all  that  day  with  Mac,  and  greatly  elated 
Mr.  Selden.  He  was  somewhat  of  a  tease,  and  as 
Mac,  with  his  light  tripping  gait,  cut  out  the  work 
for  me  from  field  to  field,  I  could  hear  him  twitting 
master  about  his  phenomenal  dog,  etc.  It  was 
mortifying,  I  confess.  But  besides  understanding 
the  knack  of  this  horseback  hunting,  Mac  had  the 
advantage  of  hunting  over  ground  he  knew  well, 
and  searching  for  coveys  he  had  often  located  before. 
Many  a  dog,  really  superior  to  another,  has  been 
put  down,  for  reasons  like  these,  as  his  inferior; 
and  once  assigned  to  secondary  rank  in  this  life,  it 
is  doubly  hard  to  reverse  the  first-formed  judgment 
of  people  as  to  one's  capacity.  For  this  reason, 
I  hold  that  every  man  and  every  dog  who  enters 
into  any  situation  where  competition  exists  and 
judgment   of   himself   by    comparison   with    others 


Diomed 


55 


will  be  passed,  is  at  a  great  disadvantage  if  he 
begins  his  work  unacquainted  or  unprepared,  be- 
side others  who  know  its  character,  and  have  had 
previous  experience.  The  judge  does  not  and  can- 
not make  due  allowance  tor  conditions;  and  having 
judged,  it  is  difficult  to  reverse  judgment.  This  is 
dog  philosophv,   I    know  ;    but  it  is  good  for  men 


Birds   Found. 


and  boys  also.  We  had  not  been  cast  off  long 
before  I  saw  Mac  make  game  and  stiffen  out  in  the 
staunchest  sort  of  point.  Frolic  and  I  closed  in 
behind  him.  The  birds  were  feeding  out  from  the 
head  of  a  brushv  swale,  and  we  were  between  them 
and  their  cover.  Thev  were  on  a  gentle  slope,  and 
at  the  top  ot  the  hill  was  an  open  piece  of  small 
pines  standing  in  high  sedge  grass.  Mr.  Selden 
was  near  at  hand,  —  master  some  distance  behind. 
I  can  see  him  now  beckoning  to  master,  alifrhting;^ 


^6  Diomed 

passing  his  rein  to  the  patient  Httle  colored  boy,  and 
silently  waiting  until  master  came  up  and  joined 
him.  What  a  moment  of  expectancy  it  was  as  they 
advanced  side  by  side.  As  they  passed  me,  I  stole 
forward  slightly  to  close  up  the  gap  between  Mac 
and  myself.  Old  Frolic  had  dropped  flat  at  sight 
of  him,  with  her  head  reared  in  the  air.  A  moment 
more,  and  gunners  passed  the  foremost  dog.  Up 
went  the  covey  with  a  whirr,  towards  the  open 
pines  and  broom  sedge.  Both  the  men  were  cool. 
There  were  birds  enough  for  both.  By  concert, 
one  shot  the  birds  to  the  right,  and  the  other  to 
the  left.  Four  reports  rang  out  upon  the  air ;  four 
pufFs  of  filmy  smoke  floated  gently  away;  four  birds 
lay  bleeding  on  the  hillside ;  and  we  watched  the 
remainder  of  the  bevy  sail  and  skim  through  the 
pines,  until,  at  last,  with  a  tilt  and  a  glint  of  wings, 
they  scattered  in  the  tall  sedge,  two  hundred  yards 
away.  It  fell  to  my  lotto  retrieve  two  ot  the  dead 
birds,  and  when  I  trotted  quietly  in,  sat  up,  and 
delivered  in  much  better  style  than  Mac  or  Frolic, 
Mr.  Seidell  paid  me  the  first  compliment  he  had 
yet  paid  me.  He  was  not  a  man  to  go  into  idle 
compliments  over  dogs.  Many  a  dog  that  other 
men  called  good  had  been  refused  and  condemned 
by  him.  So  when  he  quietly  said,  "Well,  John, 
Mac  can  outfoot  him,  but  he  is  staunch  in  backing, 
and  a  tender,  prompt  retriever,"  I  felt  proud  ;  and 
as  to  Mac  outfooting  me,  "  Ha,  Fll  show  you 
whether   Mac  can  do  that,"  thought  I. 

Mac  was  one  of  those  dogs  possessing  a  fine 
nose  and  great  speed,  and  very  successful  in  find- 
ing coveys  ;    but  who,  when  it  comes  to  head  work 


Diomed 


57 


on  scattered  birds,  tails  to  do  the  brilliant  work  of 
first-class  fielders.  That  is  where  the  so-called  field 
trials  utterly  tail  to  produce  the  gentlemen's  best 
field  dog.  The  dogs  which  run  in  field  trials  are 
taught  to  race  and  chase  for  covevs.  Speed  and 
nose  are  of  course  necessary  tor  success  in  doing 
these  things  ;  but  the  time  tor  real  sport  is  when 
the  covey  is  scattered.  The  master  obtains  his  best 
shots  by  the  judgment  and  care  shown  by  his  dog 
on  single  birds.  This  class  of  work  is  all  sacrificed 
in  field  trials  to  the  desire  for  speed.  A  field-trial 
winner  would  be  counted  a  failure  beside  the  aver- 
age gentleman's  hunting  dog,  as  far  as  actual  bird- 
finding,  and  pointing  on  scattered  birds,  is  concerned. 

Now,  I  began  very  soon  to  detect  this  style  of 
work  in  Mac.  I  saw,  as  we  entered  the  g;round 
where  the  scattered  birds  had  settled,  that  he  did 
not  want  to  stop  there  and  hunt  them  up  one  by 
one,  but  that  his  desire  was  to  range  away  for  an- 
other covey.  I  was  not  slow  to  see  my  advantage 
over  Mac  in  this,  and  used  it  for  all  it  was  worth. 
Not  so  with  Madame  Frolic,  however.  She  could 
not  keep  up  with  us  in  the  open,  but  here,  in  the 
broom  sedge,  the  old  girl  was  at  her  best.  She  spun 
about  and  pointed  here  and  there  with  unerring 
accuracy,  in  a  way  that  was  delightful.  What  poses 
we  all  took  in  that  place!      Look  at  some  of  them. 

They  would  have  rejoiced  an  artist's  heart.  It 
was  not  a  large  covey,  but  Frolic  and  I  pointed, 
I  believe,  every  bird  that  settled  in  that  little  piece 
of  pines ;  and  whatever  glory  Mac  had  achieved 
was  dimmed  by  our  performances  upon  those  scat- 
tered birds. 


Diomed 


Poses  in   Puinting. 

It  was  a  clear  morning,  and  master  and  Mr. 
Selden  gave  each  other  alternate  shots,  so  that  when 
we  returned  to  the  horses  in  less  than  half  an  hour, 
the  greater  part  of  the  covey  was  in  their  pockets. 
Mr.  Selden  once  more  honored  me  by  saving  that 
I  had  shown  wonderful  nose  and  judgment  for  a 
puppy  of  my  age. 

With  the  huntsmen  once  more  mounted,  and 
ourselves  refreshed  in  the  brook,  we  were  off  again, 
and  this  time  the  fortune  of  the  hunt  put  me  fore- 
most upon  a  covev,  not  half  a  mile  awav,  found 
while  Mac  was  ranging  off  on  a  promising  looking 
swale.  Frolic  and  1  were  almost  side  by  side,  and 
she  showed  no  jealousy  whatever,  but  let  me  take 
the  leading  position.  Mac,  seeing  us  drawing  on 
the  game,  came  dashing  our  way,  and  would  have 
rushed  past  us,  I  think,  but  for  a  sharp  order  from 
his  master  to  be  careful,  and  then  he  had  to  content 
himself  with  a  modest  back  stand.  This  time  the 
birds  rose  wild,  and  plunged  into  a  very  thick  piece 
of  swampy  woods,  so  that  while  we  followed  them, 


Diomed  59 

and  put  up  several,  they  did  not  lie  well  to  the  dog, 
and  gave  unfavorable  shots.  Our  masters  seemed 
to  think  that  we  were  behaving  badly,  but  it  was 
not  so,  for,  in  places  like  that,  little  scent  is  given 
out,  and  from  the  tufts  where  the  birds  pitched, 
thev  could  see  us  before  we  smelt  them,  and 
would  be  up  and  away  before  we  pointed,  mak- 
ing it  appear  as  if  we  had  flushed.  No  matter 
whose  fault  it  was,  Mac  and  I  were  both  voted 
"rank"  on  this  work,  and  both  received  a  sound 
switching  about  the  same  time.  From  this  point 
we  passed  onward  through  a  piece  of  woods,  giving 
us  time  to  get  over  the  smarts  of  our  thrashing,  and 
when  we  emerged  upon  a  wide  expanse  ot  rolling 
stubble,  I  think  we  had  fully  resolved  upon  steadier 
work.     As  for  mvself,  I  was  much   shaken  in  this 


Chasing. 


good  resolve  by  a  hare  which  bolted,  as  we  reached 
the  field,  under  my  very  nose.  If  I  had  known 
that  my  life  depended  on  it,  I  could  not  have 
resisted   giving   chase.      You    must   remember   that 


6o  Diomed 

I  was  very  young,  and  hid  had  but  little  experi- 
ence. So  away  I  went  like  a  whirlwind,  in  spite  of 
warning  and  threat;  and  Mr.  Selden,  sitting  on  his 
horse,  fairly  shouted  with  merriment  at  master's 
wrath  at  my   heedlessness  of  all  command. 

It  was  soon  oyer.  She  got  away  from  me,  of 
course.  She  always  did.  And  I  ?  Well  !  1  knew 
I  must  go  back,  but  I  did  not  want  to  do  so.  I 
stopped  down  in  the  woods  where  she  had  dis- 
appeared. I  listened  to  the  roll  of  the  whistle, 
calling,  calling,  calling.  And  I  trotted  back,  try- 
ing to  look  unconscious  ot  wrong,  and  not  guilty. 
But  it  did  not  ayail.  Down  went  mv  tail  as  I  saw 
master  breaking  a  dogwood  switch,  and  calling  me 
fiercely  to  him.  Somehow,  I  could  not  go.  The 
most  I  could  do  was  to  sit  down,  and  let  him  come 
to  me.  I  wonder  how  I  restrained  the  inclination 
to  run  off;  but  I  did.  His  hand  was  in  my  collar; 
I  was  lifted  from  the  ground.  And  then  folio. ved 
one  of  those  merry  woodland  songs  anci  dances 
familiar  to  every  sportsman  and   his  dog. 

Things  worked  decidedly  more  harmoniously 
after  the  little  incident  just  described.  More  than 
one  hare  scampered  away  before  me  unnoticed,  and 
every  one  of  us  realized,  thenceforth,  that  this 
was  a  bird  hunt  pure  and  simple.  In  the  roll- 
ing cultivated  ground  on  which  we  now  entered, 
birds  were  plentiful.  By  luncheon  time,  we  had 
found,  along  the  streams  skirted  by  wheat  stubble, 
three  or  four  other  coveys  ;  and  the  saddle  pockets 
were  already  beginning  to  pout  with  their  loads. 
At  last,  we  came  to  a  sweet  spring,  near  the  shady 
edge  of  a  little  wood,  under  a  wide-sp'eading  black 


Diomed  6i 

walnut.  As  the  birtis  were  by  this  time  returning 
to  the  thick  briar  patches  to  rest  and  sun  themselves 
until  it  was  time  for  the  evening  feed,  our  party 
paused  tor  a  welcome  hour  of  rest.  The  horses 
were  allowed  to  nip  the  long  green  grass  which 
grows  about  such  places.  The  saddle  pockets  con- 
taining the  luncheon  were  brought  up  by  the  little 
darky;  and  after  quenching  their  thirst,  the  hunts- 
men lay  reclining  on  the  soft  banks,  talking  over 
their  morning's  shooting,  eating  their  simple  midday 
repast  of  bread,  butter,  and  cold  chicken.  Now  and 
then,  one  or  the  other  would  toss  a  fragment  to  one 
of  us  dogs,  who  lav  about,  very  content  at  the  first 
rest  of  the  day.  We  snapped  up  eagerly  whatever 
tidbit  fell  to  our  respective  lots.  Both  master  and 
Mr.  Selden  were  always  very  scrupulous  about  be- 
stowing these  precious  morsels  equitably.  If  1  had 
a  bone,  the  next  one  went  to  Frolic,  and  when  she 
had  been  helped,  the  next  bit  of  ham  skin  or  bread 
was  tossed  to  Mac,  who  lay  curled  up  at  a  little  dis- 
tance. If  any  of  us  sought  to  interfere  with  this 
fair  rotation,  we  were  rebuked.  These  little  snaps 
of  food  were  very  small ;  but  recalling  the  food 
I  have  had  at  different  times  and  in  different  places, 
—  and  at  times  I  have  fared  most  sumptuously, — 
I  believe  the  little  chance  fragments  thus  given  me, 
at  the  noonday  rests,  have  been  the  most  delicious 
morsels  I  have  ever  enjoyed.  With  the  smoking 
which  followed  I  had  little  concern,  and  in  it  felt  no 
interest.  Now,  when  this  began,  Mac  and  Frolic, 
who  were  country  dogs,  and  no  novices,  curled 
themselves  up  in  sunny  spots  to  rest  thoroughly  ; 
knowing  full  well  that  there  was  work  enough  in 


62  Diomed 

store  for  them  before  night.  But  I  was  an  enter- 
prising, investigating  pup,  and  instead  of  lying 
down,  I  went  nosing  about,  here  and  there,  un- 
noticed, impatient  to  be  off.  A  well-worn  pathway 
came  down  through  the  woods  to  the  spring,  and 
I  knew,  by  the  sounds  of  fowl  and  other  things,  that 
a  human  habitation  was  on  the  hill,  not  far  away. 
After  mousing  about  the  bushes  and  briars  below 
the  spring,  I  trotted  up  this  little  path  a  few  steps, 
when,  to  my  great  surprise,  I  struck  the  hot,  warm 
scent  of  a  covey,  in  the  path  itself.  I  followed  it 
but  a  few  steps  when  I  came  upon  an  open,  bright 
spot  in  the  woods  where  a  beautiful  covey  lay  sun- 
ning and  dusting  themselves.  I  do  not  believe  the 
birds  saw  me  for  some  time.  Of  course  I  pointed 
them,  and  stood  there  as  stiff  as  steel-yards.  Had 
I  been  older  and  possessed  more  experience  I  would 
have  withdrawn  from  them  at  once,  and  gone  quietly 
back  to  master  and  led  him  to  where  they  were. 
Not  so  to-day,  however.  I  was  rooted  to  the  earth. 
It  seemed  an  eternity  I  stood  there.  I  knew  I  was 
visible  to  master  whenever  he  should  rise  up  ;  but 
I  also  knew  that  he  and  Mr.  Selden  were  lying 
down  talking,  and  that  unless  they  missed  me,  they 
were  not  likely  to  move  for  some  time.  At  last 
relief  came.  I  heard  master  ask  where  Di  was. 
Then  I  heard  his  whistle ;  but  I  did  not  move. 
Then  I  knew  I  had  been  seen,  for  I  heard  him 
exclaim,  excitedly,  "  Dick  !  There  he  is  standing. 
By  George  !  "  The  noise  of  the  whistle,  and  the 
loud  calls,  disturbed  the  birds  from  their  recum- 
bent or  dozing  attitudes;  they  became  alert,  looked 
about,  and   with  a  little    chattering    noise,  first   ran 


Diomed  6^ 

together  in  a  hucklle,  then  started  oft  in  a  body, 
slowly ;  but  catching  sight  of  my  glowing  eyes, 
they  squatted  flat  in  the  grass,  and  remained  there, 
watching  me  until  I  heaid  the  tramp  of  the  hunts- 
men approaching.  Again,  we  had  beautiful  shoot- 
incr.  The  birds  scattered ;  some  in  the  woods ; 
some  out  in  the  briars  along  the  little  swale  by 
the  spring  ;  some  over  the  hill.  Thus,  in  the  very 
middle  of  the  dav,  when  shooting  is  least  expected, 
the  good  work  went  on  ;  and  the  sportsmen's 
pockets  were  soon  bulging  with  the  results  of  this 
last  pleasant  surprise. 

The  last  bird  we  bagged  was  on  the  top  ot  the 
hill,  not  far  from  one  of  those  plain,  cheerless 
homes  of  the  humbler  class  of  white  people,  so 
often  seen  in  Virginia.  It  stood  in  the  edge  of  the 
woods,  facing  a  little  farm  beyond.  About  it  the 
trees  had  been  thinned  out  but  the  stumps  were  still 
standing  in  the  vard,  and  the  house,  while  it  was 
large  enough  in  its  wav,  was  unpainted.  There  was 
no  fence  or  grass  about  the  house.  In  fact,  there 
was  little  or  nothing  bespeaking  comfort  or  taste.  It 
was  all  poor  and  cheerless.  A  tall,  round-shouldered 
man,  powerful  of  frame,  gaunt  of  build,  with  long 
hair  surmounted  bv  the  travesty  of  a  hat,  and  pos- 
sessed of  a  low,  almost  plaintive  softness  in  his  voice, 
had  come  out,  attracted  by  our  shooting.  Mr.  Sel- 
den  recognized  him  at  once  as  one  ot  his  old  Cav- 
alry comrades  in  the  days  when  the  Cumberland 
Troop  and  the  Goochland  Troop  rode  with  Jeb 
Stuart  in  Pennsylvania.  "  How  is  your  little  girl, 
Tom  ?  I  heard  she  was  sick,"  said  Mr.  Selden. 
"  Mighty  poorlv,  thank  you,  Dick,"  said  our  host, 


64  Diomed 

sadly.  "  She  don't  seem  to  get  no  better.  She's 
bin  down  now  for  over  a  month,  and  I'm  afeerd 
she's  goin'  to  die.  Come  in,  gentlemen,"  said  he, 
as  they  reached  the  door  ;  "  set  your  guns  thar 
behind  the  do',  and  walk  right  in.  Have  you  bin 
to  dinner  ?  Mine  is  just  on  the  table.  Jine  me." 
There  was  something  very  cordial  in  the  way  he  said 
it.  The  gentlemen  assured  him  they  had  just  fin- 
ished their  luncheon,  and  declined  his  most  hospi- 
tably urged  invitation  ;  but,  as  it  was  still  too  early 
for  the  evening  hunting,  they  entered,  and,  pro- 
ducing a  flask,  offered  him  a  drink  of  whiskey.  He 
named,  as  the  sentiment,  "  To  old  Cavalry  days." 
Ah  !  those  old  Cavalry  days  were  the  proudest  in 
his  humble  life.  His  wife,  a  thin,  anxious,  prema- 
turely old,  little  woman,  brought  in  his  humble 
meal  of  salt  pork  and  cabbage  and  sweet  potatoes, 
and  placed  it  on  the  table.  He  spread  his  hands  and 
asked  a  gentle  blessing.  I  was  one  of  those  impu- 
dent dogs  that  follows  his  master  right  into  strange 
houses,  and  thus  it  was  I  saw  it  all.  Mr.  Selden 
asked  the  mother  most  tenderly  about  the  sick  child, 
and  she  consented  we  should  see  her.  It  was  not 
difficult.  A  door  opened  into  the  adjoining  room, 
and  there,  on  a  humble  cot,  near  her  mother's  crazy- 
quilted  bed,  was  a  pale,  wan  child  of  ten,  apparently 
too  weak  to  do  more  than  smile  feebly  as  master 
walked  in,  bent  over  her,  and  kissed  her.  The  sun- 
light streaming  in,  and  the  fire  burning  upon  the  old 
andirons,  were  the  only  cheerful  things  about  her. 
The  floor  was  bare,  save  for  a  patch  or  two  of  rag 
carpet.  None  of  the  little  accessories  of  people  ot 
means  were  around  or  about  her.     A  plain  kerosene 


Diomed  f>^ 

lamp,  and  a  plaster  dog  with  red  spots  on  him,  were 
the  only  inantel  ornaments.  A  large  Bible  lay  on 
an  unpainted  shelf.  The  walls  themselves  were 
lathed,  but  not  plastered.  Such,  dear  reader,  is  the 
uncomplaining  poverty  to  which  many  a  man  who 
followed  Stuart  and  Stonewall  Jackson  has  been  re- 
duced, by  a  war,  the  merits  of  which  a  dog  cannot 
discuss. 

By  the  side  of  the  child  was  an  old  and  dirty  rag 
baby,  —  her  only  toy.  Yet  as  she  lay  there,  the 
mellow  autumn  sunlight  gilded  her  golden  hair  with 
tints  that  many  a  child  of  luxury  can  never  possess, 
and  her  great  blue  eyes  bespoke  a  precious,  loving 
soul,  as  dear  to  God  above  as  any  in  the  homes  ot 
wealth. 

Master  drew  near  and  sat  beside  her  on  her  little 
couch.  His  eyes  were  very  sott,  and  he  spoke  to 
her  very  gently.  I  knew  why.  He  was  thinking 
of  his  own  little  girl  in  Richmond,  so  well,  and 
bright,  and  comfortable.  He  passed  his  hand  gen- 
tly over  the  dirty  rag  doll,  saying,  "  Why,  Nellie, 
you  and  the  baby  are  having  a  fine  sun-bath  to-day." 
"  Yes,"  said  she,  faintly  smiling  ;  "  but  we  don't  like 
you.  You  have  come  to  shoot  our  birds.  I  know 
when  they  were  hatched.  I  saw  them  when  they 
were  tiny  little  fuzzy  things.  I  have  often  made 
them  fly  up  all  about  me  when  I  went  to  the  barn. 
One  day  I  found  them  scratching  in  my  baby- house 
on  the  hillside."  Master  looked  sheepish  for  a 
moment.  He  thought  he  was  guilty,  and  he  said, 
"  Where  were  your  birds  ?  "  She  pointed  in  the 
direction  opposite  that  in  which  we  had  been  shoot- 
ing, and  master  seemed  much  relieved.      Resuming, 


66 


Diomed 


he  said,  "  No,  indeed.  These  were  not  your  birds. 
But  I  have  some  here  for  you.  You  are  sick,  and 
these  deUcious  birds  will  give  you  an  appetite  and 
make  you  well."  Rising  gently,  he  went  into  the 
adjoining  room  and  emptied  his  pockets  on  a  chair. 
Returning,  he  sat  down  again  by  the  little  one,  and 
taking  her  hand,  said,  "  I  have  a  dog  that  fetches 
birds  for  sick  girls.      Would  vou  like  to  see  him  do 


Fetching   for  Nellie. 

it  ? "  The  little  sufferer  smiled  at  such  a  funny 
conceit,  and  master  said  to  me,  "  Di,  fetch  Miss 
Nellie  a  bird."  Away  I  went,  and  trotted  back  to 
the  bedside  with  a  bird  in  my  mouth.  "  Sit  up, 
sir,"  said  he  ;  and  up  I  sat.  "  Now  take  it,"  said 
he  to  her.  Half  timorously,  she  reached  out  her 
little  wan  hand  and  took  it.  "  Fetch  another,"  said 
he,  and  "another,"  and  so  it  went  on,  until  all  the 
birds  were  piled  beside  her  bed,  and  she  was  bright 
and  smiling.     Then  he  made  me  sit  in  a  chair,  with 


Diomed  67 

spectacles  011  niv  nose,  and  her  hooci  on  mv  head, 
and  her  Httle  shawl  about  my  shoulders.  Then  he 
made  me  count  her  birds  by  barking  as  he  lifteci 
each  one.  Then,  at  a  signal,  I  caught  a  bit  ot 
bread  placed  on  my  nose,  and  did  all  the  little 
things  I  practised  at  home  to  make  my  own  little 
mistress  happv.  So  when  we  left,  the  little  girl  had 
a  bright  spot  on  each  cheek,  and  kissed  master,  and 
asked  him  to  come  again,  and  said  he  might  always 
shoot  birds,  provided  he  did  not  trouble  her  pet 
covey.  When  master  returned  to  Richmond,  he 
sent  little  Nellie  some  delicacies,  for  1  heard  him 
say  that  all  she  lacked  was  proper  nutriment,  which 
her  good,  kind  father  was  too  poor  to  furnish  her. 
And  a  month  later,  when  Mr.  Selden  met  her  father 
on  the  road,  he  told  him  she  had  begun  to  get  well 
from  the  very  day  of  our  visit  and  the  first  delicious 
quail  she  ate,  and  that  now  she  was  as  bright  and 
strong  as  ever.  So  you  see  that  even  a  dog  can  do 
good  in  this  world,  and  that  shooting  birds  is  some- 
times a  very  good  occupation. 

Would  you  believe  it  ?  Eight  years  afterwards 
Mr.  Selden  and  I  were  in  Powhatan.  We  were 
passing  through  a  piece  of  dark  woods.  I  was 
trotting  some  distance  in  advance.  I  met  a  light 
vehicle  with  a  man  and  woman  in  it.  I  never 
noticed  them  particularly ;  but  1  saw  theni  stop 
and  talk  to  Mr.  Selden,  and  then  I  heard  him 
calling  me.  When  I  returned,  1  was  surprised 
to  hear  the  young  lady  say,  "  Here,  Di ;  here, 
Di."  Mr.  Selden  said,  "Jump  in,  Di,  and  speak 
to  the  lady."  So  up  I  jumped ;  tor  often  we 
hunted   in  a  buggy.     She  patted  and  stroked  me, 


68  Diomed 

and  actually  kissed  me,  and  said  I  saved  her  life. 
It  was  Nellie.  She  had  grown  up,  and  was  a  very 
pretty  young  woman,  too,  I  can  tell  you  ;  and  she 
said  the  awkward  young  fellow  driving  had  been 
married  to  her  very  recently.  They  seemed  more 
prosperous  than  when  I  first  met  her,  and  I  am 
glad  of  it.  "  And  how  is  master  ? "  said  she. 
"Ah,"  thought  I,  "master  has  deserted  me.  He 
has  gone  to  live  in  great  New  York,  and  while  1 
live  with  Mr.  Selden,  who  is  very  good  to  me,  I 
only  see  dear  master  once  or  twice  a  year,  and  times 
are  not  like  they  used  to  be." 

During  the  time  we  had  spent  in  the  house,  clouds 
had  begun  to  gather,  and  soon  after  we  started  for 
the  evening  shooting,  the  sun  was  obscured  and  the 
weather  signs  indicated  a  storm  for  the  morrow. 
There  being  little  or  no  wind,  such  an  afternoon 
furnished  an  ideal  day  for  sport.  The  birds  seem 
to  have  the  necessary  premonition,  and  come  out  to 
fill  their  crops,  so  that  in  case  of  long,  heavy  rains 
or  severe  snow-fall,  they  can  stand  a  long  fast. 
Fortunate  is  the  huntsman  who  falls  upon  such  a 
time  ;  for  the  birds  are  all  out,  and  the  scent  lies  so 
well  that  he  is  often  surprised  by  the  number  he 
finds.  This  afternoon  was  all  we  could  have  desired. 
Soon  after  leaving  the  home  of  the  Cavalryman,  we 
entered  upon  the  vast  estate  of  Clifton,  formerly  the 
residence  of  Mr.  Peyton  Harrison.  Most  of  the 
traces  of  its  former  grandeur  were  gone ;  but  its 
desolation  was  the  main  attraction  to  us.  In  the 
great  fields,  the  sassafras  and  dogwood  trees  had 
grown  up  along  the  ditch  banks,  their  roots  matted 
with  thick  undergrowth  of  blackberries  and  briars 


Diomed  69 

and  deer-berry  bushes.  In  these  are  the  safe  covert 
of  the  quail,  and  from  them  they  feed  out  into  the 
fields,  where  we  found  them.  Once  scattered  along 
these  ditch  banks,  with  no  woods  or  thickets  to  fly 
to,  they  gave  ideal  shooting.  With  one  man  and 
dog  on  one  side  of  such  a  ditch,  and  another  man 
and  dog  on  the  other  side,  almost  every  bird  was 
found,  and  almost  every  one  that  rose  gave  a  fair 
shot  to  one  or  the  other  of  the  sportsmen,  without 
even  a  temptation  to  interfering  with  each  other's 
shots.  It  was  an  afternoon  I  will  never  forget. 
There  was  work  and  glory  and  slaughter  for  all. 
Not  only  quail  were  found,  but  hares  in  abundance, 
and  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  retrieving  a  dozen 
hares.  The  little  darky  on  the  pony  was  fairly 
loaded  down  with  hares  strung  to  his  saddle-bow  ; 
and  two  hares  to  each  dog  was  the  portion  fed  to  us 
that  night. 

When  ciarkness  began  to  close  in  upon  us,  every 
receptacle  for  game  was  full, —  game-bags,  saddle 
pockets,  and  the  game  pockets  of  the  sportsmen. 
All  were  satisfied  with  a  glorious  day  of  sport,  and 
I  realized  that  not  only  was  quail-shooting  the  per- 
fection of  sport,  but  that  hunting  with  the  men  on 
horseback,  while  the  hardest  task  that  could  be 
assigned  to  dogs,  was  the  best  and  most  successful 
of  all  hunting. 

When  we  reached  the  red  country  road,  the  last 
of  davlight  was  fiiding  out.  We  were  ten  miles 
from  Cartersville,  and  pursuant  to  an  intimation 
that  we  might  not  return  that  night,  given  to  Mrs. 
Selden  that  morning,  it  was  resolved  that,  instead 
of  going  home,  we  would  spend  the  night  at  a  place 


70  Diomed 

called  Walton's  Mills,  and  hunt  back  over  the  same 
ground  on  the  morrow. 

Walton's  Mills  was  but  two  miles  awav%  and 
thither  we  repaired.  It  was  a  typical  Virginia 
gathering  spot.  Located  on  a  little  mill-stream  in 
a  piece  of  lowland,  it  had,  besides  the  mill,  a  coun- 
try store,  with  the  residence  of  the  storekeeper 
above,  provided  with  two  or  three  spare  rooms 
for  the  accommodation  of  chance  visitors.  When 
we  arrived  there,  quite  a  number  of  darkies  from 
the  neighborhood  were  about  the  store  with  their 
little  carts,  many  of  which  were  drawn  by  odd-look- 
ing speckled  oxen,  not  much  larger  than  the  ordi- 
nary yearling  calf  Yellow  cur  dogs  were  plentiful, 
and  one  of  them  came  bowling  out  at  me;  but  I 
gave  him  such  a  nip  and  such  a  shaking,  that  he, 
and  all  like  him,  left  me  alone  thenceforth.  Our 
horses  were  soon  stabled.  We  all  proceeded  into 
the  hot,  bad-smelling  store,  where,  being  dead  tired, 
Mac,  Frolic,  and  1  dropped  down,  to  be  trodden 
on  half  a  dozen  times  by  the  darkies,  who  were 
shuffling  about  from  place  to  place.  One  darky 
had  a  mouth  organ,  and  another  a  squeaky  fiddle, 
to  which  several  others  were  disposed  to  dance. 
Everybody  was  crowding  about  the  big  stove,  talk- 
ing, laughing,  and  guffawing  in  a  way  that  was 
disgusting  to  tired  dogs.  I  wondered  why  our 
masters  had  come  to  such  a  place  in  preference 
to  going  to  the  house  of  some  of  the  neighboring 
gentlemen  who  were  all  their  friends  ;  but  I  heard 
them  say  then,  and  often  afterwards,  that  they 
avoided  gentlemen's  houses  when  they  were  hunt- 
ing,   because    not   one   gentleman    in    twenty   was  a 


Diomed  7 1 

sportsiiKin,  and  too  much  was  expected  ot  them  at 
night,  when  they  were  tired,  and  too  little  haste  was 
made  about  letting  them  get  ofFin  the  morning,  when 
thev  ought  to  be  afield.  I  know  how  that  is,  and  it 
is  true.  Very  few  ladies  can  be  made  to  realize  that 
it  is  more  hospitable  to  a  sportsman  to  let  him  get 
afield  early,  than  it  is  to  furnish  him  a  fine  breakfast. 
A  place  like  this,  where  one  can  pay  and  demand 
what  he  wants,  is  much  better  for  real  sport. 

But  our  troubles  did  not  last  long.  Master 
and  Mr.  Selden  took  care  that  we  were  soon  fed 
heartily  on  a  heaping  dish  of  stewed  hare  and  corn 
meal  ;  and  then  we  were  taken  out  to  a  corn  crib 
filled  with  shucks,  into  which,  being  very  stiff,  we 
were  carefully  lifted,  the  door  was  locked,  and,  after 
curling  ourselves  snugly  in  our  soft  bedding,  we  fell 
into  delightful  slumber,  declaring  that  it  had  been 
a  glorious  day. 

During  the  night  it  began  to  rain  steadily.  When 
we  were  released  from  our  sleeping-place  in  the  morn- 
ing, dull  leaden  mists  hung  about  the  mill  and  store, 
and  a  cold,  November  rain  fell  unceasingly.  What 
a  sad  sequel  to  yesterday  !  What  a  bitter  disap- 
pointment for  the  return  hunt ! 

Master  and  Mr.  Selden  sat  on  the  store  porch, 
watching  and  hoping  for  a  break  in  the  clouds,  but 
none  came.  At  last,  giving  up  hope  of  clearing 
weather,  our  masters  determined  to  ride  home  in  the 
rain.  Oilcloth  overcoats  had  been  strapped  on  the 
saddles  out  of  abundant  precaution,  for  our  masters 
were  old  army  men.  These  were  now  donned,  the 
horses  were  mounted,  and,  sadly  enough,  in  the  pat- 
tering rain,  \yith   the  guns  hugged  closely  under  the 


7^ 


Di 


lomec 


gunners'  arms,  we  started  home.  Mac,  Frolic,  and 
1,  dripping  with  rain,  and  with  tucked  tails,  picked 
our  way  gingerly  along  the  wet  roadside,  or  in  the 
muddy  road  at  the  horses'  heels,  and  every  prospect 
of  further  sport  seemed  at  an  end. 

On  our  way  back,  master  saw  a  birci  in  a  large 
thorn-bush.       He    noticed   its  peculiar    appearance. 


Ridina   Homeward  in   the   Sturm. 


and  asked  Mr.  Selden  what  it  was.  "  Mocking- 
bird "  was  the  sententious  reply.  Master  insisted 
it  was  not.  Mr.  Selden  persisted  in  his  opinion. 
To  prove  he  was  right,  master  shot  it,  although 
killing  a  mocking-bird  was  punishable  by  a  fine. 
Neither  knew  what  the  bird  was  when  it  was  killed. 
Master  shipped  it  to  the  Smithsonian  Institute  at 
Washington.  He  received  a  letter  in  reply,  thank- 
ing him  for  a  fine  specimen  ot  the  butcher  bird, 
or  loggerhead  shrike,  a  bird  of  peculiar  habits.      In 


Dicimcd 


73 


appearance,  it  resembles  somewhat  the  mocking- 
bird, somewhat  the  brown  thrush,  and  somewhat 
the  sparrow  hawk.  The  Smithsonian  Institute  au- 
thorities informed  master  that  this  butcher  bird  is  so 
called  because  of  its  habit  of  killing  sparrows  and 
other  small  birds,  and  hanging  them  up  by  their 
bills  on  thorn-bushes,  where  they  are  left  until  they 
decay,  and  then  the  butcher  bird  returns  and  eats 
them.  I  have  often  found  birds  so  hanging  on  the 
bushes,  and,  until  I  heard  this,  thought  it  had  been 
done  by  little  boys. 

We  reached  Snowden  in  time  tor  the  evening 
train  to  Richmond,  and,  as  there  was  no  prospect  ot 
clear  weather,  master  and  I  took  the  train  for  home. 
You  may  be  sure  the  household  was  happy  at  the 
load  of  game  we  tumbled  upon  our  kitchen  table. 

Our  cook.  Aunt  Page,  of  blessed  memory,  looked 
at  the  pile,  grunted  at  the  thought  of  the  birds  she 
must  pick,  and,  tossing  me  a  fine,  fat,  turkey  leg, 
said  to  master,  "  Well,  vou  is  got  a  dog  now  dat  can 
ketch  'em.      Sho'  nuff." 

And  thus  ended  mv  first  horseback  hunt  tor  quail. 


Butcher  Bird. 


Chapter  V 

(1885) 
Snipe-Shooting  at   Deep    Bottom 


^ 


i^^li^i-  HERE  is  no  telling  how  long  this 
narrative  would  be  it  I  should 
attempt  to  describe  in  detail  the  hunts  for  quail  I 
took  with  master.  I  cannot  for  a  moment  con- 
template such  a  thing,  although  our  different  shoot- 
ing trips  had  each  its  points  of  interest  and  episodes 
well  worth  embalming. 

Master  took  a  welcome  rest  in  December  of  1884 
and  January  of  1885  ;  and  much  that  occurred  dur- 
ing that  period  must  be  omitted  here  ;  but  I  may 
some  day  write  it,  in  isolated  sketches.  There  was 
the  delightful  three-days'  trip  to  Amelia  County  with 
the  Taylors  of  Dykeland  ;  a  fine  day  in  Caroline 
with  the  De  Jarnettes,  when  we  shot  over  the  IMat- 

74 


Diomed  75 

taponi  flats  and  varied  quail-Iuinting  with  a  shot  at 
the  wild  geese  from  a  hHnd;  and  there  was  the  hunt 
to  Newstead  the  dav  after  New  Year's  ;  and  many 
others  that  must  be  passed  over  lest  some  one  may 
sav  the  old  dog  has  become  too  garrulous. 

The  close  ot  the  quail  season  came  Februarv  i, 
and  I  wondered  how  I  would  pass  the  time  from 
then  until  the  L  essed  ist  ot  November,  when  we 
would  once  more  be  at  liberty  to  hunt. 

February  and  March  were  cold  and  snowv  enough. 
I  found  my  kennel,  and  its  bed  of  straw,  very  com- 
fortable, in  its  southern  exposure  ;  but,  beyond  an 
occasional  run  in  the  alternoon,  and  the  delightful 
evenings  before  the  library  fire,  there  was  little  going 
forward  ot  interest  to  dogs. 

I  was  now  a  full-grown  dog.  I  may  be  said  to 
have  graduated  with  honors  on  quails  and  woodcock  ; 
for,  in  the  course  of  our  hunts  for  quails,  we  had 
bagged  quite  a  number  of  these  long-billed  delicacies. 
I  was  well,  strong,  full  of  youth  and  high  spirit, 
muscled  like  an  athlete,  and  exceedinglv  ambitious. 

No  one  who  has  not  lived  in  this  Virginia  climate 
realizes  the  great  contrast  between  it  and  the  north. 
March  is  March  evervwhere,  I  presume;  but  those 
who  dwell  in  the  north,  and  pass  through  its  long 
period  of  March  winds  and  sleet  and  rains,  thankful 
if  thev  escape  rheumatism  or  pneumonia,  little  appre- 
ciate the  brevity  of  such  trying  seasons  in  the  south. 
Bv  the  last  of  March  the  wintry  winds  seem  to  have 
spent  their  wrath,  in  our  climate  ;  the  sun  begins  to 
shine  with  genial  warmth ;  the  leaden  clouds  of 
winter  roll  away  ;  the  earth  swells  with  its  burden  of 
new  lite  ;  the  tulips  and  the  hyacinths  begin  to  peep 


•jG  Diomed 

out  in  sunny  sheltered  spots  ;  the  brown  lawns  and 

hillsides   change    from    their   dead   aspects    to    faint 

green ;  the  pink  of  peach  and  white  of  apple  blooms, 

and  the  creamy  stars  of  dogwood  blossoms,  give  tint 

and  beauty   to  the  landscape  ;    the   robins,  meadow 

larks,  and  turtle   doves  are  wooing,  everywhere,  in 

their  sweetest  love   notes  ;    here   and   there,  on   the 

wide  fields  of  green  wheat,  is  heard  the  throaty  call 

of  the  upland  plover,  as,  coyest  of  all  the  game  birds, 

he  flits  beyond  all  chance  of  harm  ;  and  about  all  is 

an  atmosphere  clear  as  autumn's  loveliest  day,  but 

bracing  anci  free  from  summer  languor. 

•  •  •  1 

It  was  just  such  a  morning,  early  in  April,  1885, 

that  master,  gun-case  in  hand,  called  me  up,  and  we 
proceeded,  accompanied  by  a  triend,  to  make  our- 
selves comfortable  in  the  shooting-wagon.  Lap- 
robes  were  still  needed  for  long  rides,  and,  as  I  was 
now  considered  a  well-trained  dog,  I  was  expected 
to  lie  under  the  seat,  covered  by  the  robes  around 
the  feet  of  the  men.  But  I  found  the  arrangement 
unbearable.  For  the  first  mile  or  so,  while  we  were 
still  rattling  over  the  city  pavements,  it  was  all  well 
enough.  But  when  we  ceased  to  clatter  on  the 
cobble  stones,  and  1  realized  that  we  were  coming  to 
the  country  roads,  I  could  not  bear  the  thought  of 
not  seeing  and  smelling  the  country  air.  First  an 
uneasy  movement  or  two,  then  a  nudge,  then  a  whim- 
per, then  a  scuffle  for  air  and  daylight,  brought  my 
head  above  the  covering;  and,  then,  gradually  push- 
ing and  pressing,  I  succeeded  in  getting  my  legs 
across  master's  lap,  and  leaned  forward  until  my  head 
projected  beyond  the  wheels.  Boxing  and  ordering 
had  their  effects,  of  course  ;  but,  after  each  rebuke,  I 


Diomed  77 

managred  gradually  to  work  my  way  liack  to  the  old 
position.  And,  finallv,  when  one  particularly  tempt- 
ing field  spread  itself  before  me,  I  made  a  bold  dash 
for  liberty.  It  was  uncomfortable  for  everybody,  I 
know,  but  the  truth  is  I  felt  that  it  was  a  shame, 
pent  up  as  I  had  been  for  so  long  a  time,  not  to 
give  me  a  run  to  my  heart's  content;  and  I  felt  that 
whoso  thwarted  me  in  that  ardent  wish  deserved  no 
sort  of  comfort.  More  than  once,  but  for  master's 
restraint,  I  would  have  sprung  or  tumbled  out,  at 
risk  of  breaking  my  legs  in  the  wheels.  "  Plague 
take  the  dog  !  "  he  exclaimed  at  last.  "  He  is  wild 
to  run,  and  harder  to  hold  than  a  greased  pig."  So, 
ordering;  the  driver  to  pull  up,  he  threw  me,  neck 
and  heels,  over  the  wheels  ;  and  thenceforth  I  had 
it  all  mv  own  way.  As  I  galloped  along,  abreast  of 
the  vehicle,  I  found,  in  a  little  patch  of  scrub  oak, 
on  a  southern  exposure,  a  fine  covey  of  quail,  which 
had  not  yet  paired  off;  but  master  was  too  true 
a  sportsman  to  violate  the  law,  and  called  me  off. 
I  was  disgusted  as  they  whirled  awav  unshot  at. 
"What  is^it  all  about?"  thought  I.  "What  are 
they  after  if  not  c]uail  ?  " 

On,  beyond  the  beautiful  estate  of  "  Tree  Hill," 
past  old  Jimmy  Throckmorton  the  fox-hunter's, 
through  historic  Chaffin's  Farm,  and  Newsteaci,  we 
kept  our  course,  and  finally  turned  into  the  large 
river  plantation  at  \^arina.  At  last,  below  Varina, 
we  headed  directly  for  the  river  bank,  drove  through 
the  stunted  pines  growing  over  the  old  battle-fields, 
and,  windincT  down  a  steep,  almost  precipitous,  wagon 
track,  reached  a  cluster  of  the  c]ueerest  little  shanties, 
sitting  under  the  bluffs,  near  the  water's  edge,  at  a 


1' 


Diomed 


historic  spot  called  "  Deep  Bottom."  It  was  twelve 
miles  below  Richmond,  where  Grant  threw  his  pon- 
toons across  the  James  when  he  crossed  from  the 
north  side  to  the  south  side  of  the  river  and  in- 
vested Petersburg,  twenty  years  betore.  There  was 
little  to  indicate  that  an  army  had  ever  occupied 
the  spot  when  I  visited  it.  Miss  Silvia  Scott,  com- 
monly called  "  Silvy,"  one  of  the  blackest  darkies  1 
ever  saw,  was  the  sole  occupant  of  the  house  at  which 
we  stopped.  Silw's,  and  two  or  three  other  cabins, 
constituted  the  entire  settlement.  They  were  in- 
habited bv  colored  people,  whose  occupation  was 
fishing.  Their  nets  were  stretched  upon  the  narrow 
strip  of  shore  between  the  bluff  and  the  river,  and 
their  little  boats  had  been  dragged  ashore  along  the 
water's  edge.  At  the  time  of  our  visit  the  spring 
run  of  shad  had  just  begun,  and  master  was  not  slow 
to  secure  one  of  these  delicacies,  and  leave  instruc- 
tions with  Silvy  to  have  it  prepared  against  our 
return. 

I  then,  for  the  first  time,  learned  that  our  object 
was  to  hunt  snipes.  Exactly  what  snipes  were  I  did 
not  know,  much  less  did  1  understand  how  they 
were  hunted.  My  general  haziness  was  increased 
when  I  saw  master  emerge  from  Silvy's  house,  a 
few  moments  later,  with  a  clay-colored  covering  ot 
water-proof,  extending  in  one  piece,  from  his  feet  to 
his  armpits,  and  held  up  by  shoulder  straps.  It 
was  the  oddest-looking  outfit  I  had  yet  seen  him 
wear.  We  soon  secured  a  boat  to  put  us  across  the 
stream,  which  at  this  point  is  not  over  two  hundred 
vards  wide.  Arriving  on  the  other  side,  I  found 
that,  whereas  the   land  seemed   high   enough  as  we 


Diomed  79 

crossed,  it  was  in  fact  but  a  narrow  embankment  or 
levee  ;  and  that,  thirty  yards  from  the  river  bank, 
the  land  was  nearly  or  quite  as  low  as  the  river  itself, 
and  was  traversed  in  many  directions  by  deep  ditches. 
The  river  came  down  from  above  us  with  a  great 
curve,  and,  sweeping  past  "  Deep  Bottom,"  bent 
backward,  returning,  after  a  course  of  three  miles,  to 
within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  itself.  On  the  north- 
ern bank  were  wooded  bluffs.  On  the  southern  side, 
where  we  were  now  standing,  the  land  was  a  marsh, 
nearly  surrounded  bv  the  curve  of  the  river,  and  had 
been  partially  reclaimed  by  the  diking.  This  land, 
when  not  overflowed,  is  very  productive ;  and  the 
recurring  overflows  add  to  its  richness.  At  the  time 
of  our  visit  part  of  it  had  been  planted  in  corn,  the 
stalks  of  which  were  still  standing  ;  but  the  spring 
rains  had  made  it  very  wet  and  oozy.  So  that,  from 
the  time  we  stepped  down  from  the  levee  into  the 
corn-fields,  we  began  as  tough  a  piece  of  work  as  had 
ever  fallen  to  my  lot.  Even  in  those  days  master 
was  inclined  to  be  stout;  and,  as  we  toiled  through 
the  tough  mud,  I  panting,  and  he  steaming  with 
perspiration,  I  speedily  concluded  that,  whatever 
this  thing  called  snipes  might  be,  there  were  other 
sorts  of  game  the  hunting  of  which  I  preferred. 
Soon  we  reached  a  greenish  piece  ot  meadow  where, 
it  being  too  wet  for  corn-planting,  the  marsh  grasses 
remained,  studded  with  water-willows  growing  in 
patches  along  the  draining  ditches.  This  was  firmer 
ground,  but  the  water  stood  about  in  little  pools, 
still  cold  from  winter's  chill.  Plainlv  seeing  that  it 
was  no  place  for  quail,  I  made  no  efiort  to  quarter 
back  and  forth,  and  was  content  to  wade  and  potter 


8o  Diomed 

about,  in  master's  neighborhood,  in  a  very  uncertain 
frame  of  mind  as  to  what  was  expected  of  me.  It 
was  not  very  long  before  I  saw  spring  from  a  neigh- 
boring oozy  spot,  a  brownish  bird,  showing  white 
beneath,  as  he  sped  away  behind  a  very  long  bill, 
resembling  that  of  my  old  friend  the  woodcock.  His 
flicrht  was,  however,  very  different  from  that  of  the 
woodcock.  At  first  he  went  low  down,  near  the 
grass,  in  irregular  darts,  to  right  and  left,  and  then, 
with  a  sound  like  "scaipp-e,"  he  steadied  himself  on 
his  course,  rising  as  he  flew,  until  a  hundred  yards  in 
air  was  gained.  He  flitted,  with  great  speed,  north, 
west,  south,  and  east,  around  and  about,  for  ten 
minutes  or  more,  back  and  forth  ;  now  a  speck  on 
the  horizon  ;  now  bearing  back  to  us,  passing  almost 
in  gunshot  distance  over  our  heads  ;  and,  at  last, 
turning  and  approaching  the  earth  with  a  sudden 
dart,  he  settled,  a  few  hundred  yards  away  from  us. 
While  this  was  going  on,  master  and  I  watched  him. 
Master  squatted,  with  upturned  face,  his  hand  upon 
my  neck,  until,  after  all  this  cavorting  back  and 
forth,  we  saw  him  dart  earthward  and  disappear 
behind  some  intervening  grasses.  "  So  that  is  a 
snipe,"  I  thought.  "  Well,  for  a  bird  of  his  size  and 
looks,  he  is  the  most  troublesome  customer  to  come 
up  with  I  have  yet  encountered.  I  wonder  how  he 
smells."  Accordingly,  released,  I  trotted  over  to 
where  I  had  seen  him  spring,  and  there,  sure  enough, 
was  a  very  good  scent;  and,  in  the  dark  ooze,  quite 
a  number  of  little  holes,  called  "borings,"  where  the 
snipe  was,  doubtless,  seeking  his  breakfast,  when  we 
interrupted  him.  Starting  in  the  direction  in  which 
we  had  seen   him   alight,  the  water  became  deeper 


82  Diomed 

and  master's  wading-breeches  stood  him  in  good 
stead  ;  for,  without  them,  he  would  have  been  wet 
to  the  hips.  His  companion,  who  only  had  rubber 
boots,  was  content  to  stay  quite  far  away  from  us, 
along  the  edges  of  the  corn.  I  had  been  ordered  to 
heel.  I  would  have  preferred  greatly  to  toUow  the 
other  gentleman  on  dryer  ground.  As  we  floundered 
across  the  intervening  wet  ground  master  threw  spray 
like  a  stern  wheeler,  and  I  was  thoroughly  wet.  I 
had  my  own  laugh,  too,  at  master,  for  he  stepped  into 
a  musk-rat  hole,  and  fell  on  hands  and  knees,  just 
as  another  bird  flitted  away  from  the  higher  ground 
we  were  struggling  for.  Having  gained  firm  sod  at 
last,  I  at  once  recognized  the  snipe  scent,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  making  my  first  point  upon  snipe.  Seeing 
how  wild  they  were,  I  determined  to  take  no  risks 
of  flushing,  and,  at  the  first  faint  odor,  stiflened  ofi-' 
on  point.  Master  came  up,  and  failing  to  find  the 
bird  near,  concluded  1  was  pointing  the  scent  from 
which  we  had  seen  the  bird  rise  when  he  fell  down  ; 
but  I  knew  better,  and  held  my  point.  He  ad- 
vanced some  steps,  up  wind,  when  two  or  three  birds 
rose,  at  least  twenty-five  yards  away  ;  and,  while  he 
bagged  one  with  his  choked-bore,  the  others  escaped. 
I  dashed  forward  to  retrieve,  and  found  the  bird  in 
its  death  struggles,  beating  the  waters  of  a  little  open 
pool,  and  dabbling  them  with  its  blood  as  it  gasped 
convulsively.  I  did  not  like  its  smell,  and  would 
fain  have  left  it  there;  but  master  said  "fetch,"  in 
tones  not  to  be  mistaken,  and  so,  reluctantly,  I  car- 
ried the  bird  in  by  one  of  his  wings,  far  from  enthu- 
siastic about  snipes.  Birds  were  not  plentiful  by  any 
means.     A  fresh  westerly  breeze  was  blowing.      Our 


Diomed 


«3 


position  forced  us  to  work  up  wind,  and  such  birds 
as  we  found  would  not  allow  us  to  get  in  shooting 
distance,  but  sped  straight  away  from  us.  As  tor 
myself,  it  seemed  as  if  I  would  never  come  within  a 
hundred  yards  of  another  snipe  They  heard  me 
plashing  about  so  far  away,  and  saw  my  white  body 
against  the  green  marsh  or  dark  ploughed  field,  at 
such  a  distance,  I  despaired  ot  getting  within  smelling 


Poor  Sport  This. 

distance  before  they  rose.  Thus  we  passed  an  hour 
or  more  working  laboriously  to  the  higher  ground 
beyond  the  marsh.  Master  had  fired  several  shots 
at  long  distance,  but  when,  at  last,  we  lay  down  upon 
a  dry  musk-rat  house  to  rest,  the  bird  I  had  stood  was 
our  only  reward.  As  he  took  it  out  and  stroked  it, 
and  held  it  up  by  its  long  bill,  I  thought  it  was  the 
poorest  return  1  had  yet  haci  for  the  same  amount 
of  labor.  But  master  understood  his  business,  if  I 
did    not.      He    knew    that    no    man    living   can    tell 


84  Diomed 

where  snipes  will  be  found  feeding  on  any  particular 
day;  and  he  knew  that  if  the  wind  is  blowing  while 
they  are  feeding,  no  man  can  come  within  shooting 
distance  ot  them,  it  he  approaches  them  up  wind. 
A  snipe  invariably  rises  against  wind.  His  length 
of  bill  forces  him  to  rise  trom  the  earth  that  way. 
It  the  hunter  approaches  him  coming  up  the  wind, 
the  snipe  knows  he  can  flv  straight  awav  from  him, 
and  does  flv  without  awaiting  the  hunter's  near 
approach.  It  the  hunter  comes  down  wind,  the 
snipe  is  puzzled.  He  knows  he  must,  when  he 
springs,  start  towards  his  foe;  and,  while  he  is  de- 
ciding what  he  will  do,  the  hunter  gets  within  shoot- 
ing distance.  Then,  when  the  snipe  is  forced  to 
rise,  he  gives  the  hunter  a  quartering  shot,  greatly 
preferable  to  the  long,  straight  awav  shot,  presented 
when  the  bird  is  approached  up  wind.  Moreover, 
snipes  that  are  as  wild  as  deer  in  the  breezv  morn- 
ing, become,  at  midday,  when  thev  have  fed  and 
the  wind  has  lulled,  lazy,  and  so  indifferent  to  the 
approach  of  man  and  dog  that  thev  rise  almost 
under  the  hunter's  teet.  Now,  while  I  was  lying 
there,  thoroughly  disgusted,  master  knew  all  this, 
and  had  been  shaping  our  hunt  so  as  to  reach  the 
proper  point  at  the  proper  moment. 

The  brisk  morning  breeze  had,  by  this  time,  died 
away.  It  was  near  middav,  and  the  sun  was  coming 
down  with  considerable  warmth  upon  our  musk-rat 
lounge  in  the  swamp  waters.  All  the  morning  we 
had  noticed  that  the  birds  we  put  up  had  tlown  from 
the  lower  part  of  the  swamp  towards  a  green  marsh 
which  blended  with  the  hicrher  pasture  land  beyond 
the    neck    ot    our  peninsula.      Steadily  and    labori- 


Diomed  85 

OLisly  we  had  worked  up  to  windward  of  that  posi- 
tion ;  and  now,  leaving  our  dry  spot,  we  once  more 
toiled  through  the  wet  land,  and  reached  the  green- 
sward of  the  meadows,  to  windward  of  the  birds. 
As  I  waded  to  high  land  the  first  thing  I  smelt  was 
a  snipe,  and,  while  yet  in  water  six  inches  deep,  1 
crouched  and  pointed  a  bird.  Master,  this  time, 
found  him  very  near  to  me,  and  knocked  him  over 
in  fine  style  as  he  quartered  away  from  us.  This 
bird  retrieved,  the  first  genuine  sport  of  the  day 
began,  and  I  have  often  heard  master  say  he  never 
saw  me  look  as  handsome  as  I  did  that  day,  some- 
times squatting  on  the  point  in  water  so  deep  that 
my  chest  was  submerged.  Our  friend  had,  by  this 
time,  become  separated  from  us  so  far  that  we  could 
only  faintly  hear  the  report  of  his  gun.  He  had 
followed  the  river  bank  down  stream,  and  we  had 
crossed  the  swamp,  so  that  we  were  up  stream, 
near  the  bank.  We  were  now  working  across  the 
narrow  neck,  at  the  point  where  the  upland  merges 
in  the  low  grounds,  and  here  we  found  a  large  herd 
of  cattle  grazing.  Snipes  do  not  fear  cattle  ;  and, 
it  would  seem,  cattle  do  not  fear  snipes  ;  for  a  cer- 
tain little  Holstein  bull,  undeterred  by  the  presence 
of  snipes,  concentrated  his  attention  upon  me  with 
such  intensity  that  he  came  trotting  down  upon  me 
in  a  most  threatening  way,  1  saw  how  unequal  the 
contest  was  likely  to  be,  and  was  preparing  to  with- 
draw rapidly,  when  master's  gun  cracked  w'ith  an 
unusually  vicious  bang;  the  little  bull  paused  in  his 
onset,  and,  turning  round,  went  whisking  and  bel- 
lowing away.  Master  had  touched  him  up  lightly 
from  behind  with  a  load  of  chilled  shot.     Some  time 


86  Diomed 

after  this  I  learned  the  feeling  myself,  and  it  was 
not  pleasant.  My  trouble  grew  out  of  my  uncon- 
querable weakness  for  hares.  Well,  in  that  pretty 
piece  of  meadow  marsh,  or  marsh  meadow,  I  learned 
that  snipe-shooting  was  much  better  sport  than  I 
had  at  first  rated  it.  The  birds,  heavy  with  their 
morning's  feed  and  lazy  from  the  warm  sun,  would 
permit  me  to  come  right  down  upon  them,  and  point 
them  not  five  feet  away.  Master  was  in  good 
form,  and  all  things  worked  together  harmoniouslv. 
Within  an  hour  after  my  despondent  reflections 
atop  of  the  musk-rat  house  we  had  found  snipes  in 
great  numbers,  and  master's  pockets  fairlv  bulged 
with  them.  I  omit  numbers.  It  is  said  that  fig- 
ures do  not  lie.  But  dogs  and  men  are  prone  to 
use  false-  figures  in  describing  game-bags,  and  what 
does  it  matter,  alter  all,  how  many  snipes  there  were  ? 
One  thing  I  know  full  well  and  remember  most 
vividly;  viz.  that  master  came  verv  near  taking 
home  one  less  dog  and  one  less  snipe  than  actually 
reached  there  that  evening,  and  this  was  the  way 
of  it. 

After  we  finished  working  up  the  meadow  we 
went  a  long  way  around,  so  as  to  rejoin  our  shoot- 
ing-companion. We  might  have  waded  across  the 
marsh  again,  but  both  of  us  had  indulged  in  quite 
as  much  ot  that  as  we  felt  to  be  enjoyable  ;  so  we 
made  the  circuit.  We  found  that  he  had  had  poor 
shooting.  Only  five  or  six  birds  had  been  found 
along  the  edges.  He  was  standing,  where  he  had 
spent  half  an  hour,  fishing  with  a  long  pole,  for  a 
bird  that  had  fallen  in  the  river  and  become  en- 
tangled   in    a    mass   of   briars,    some   feet   from    the 


Diomed  87 

shore  of  the  swollen  stream.  Of  course,  he  was 
delighted  to  see  us,  because  he  knew  I  would  swim 
out  and  retrieve  the  bird  as  soon  as  I  saw  it.  And 
so  I  did,  but  it  was  not  pleasant.  I  was  just  getting 
warm  and  dry  from  my  long  tramp  through  the 
swamp.  After  running  back  and  forth  on  the  em- 
bankment, and  having  the  bird  located  by  a  clod  of 
earth,  in  I  plunged  and  soon  had  him  in  my  mouth. 
The  water  was  swirling  around  the  bush  like  a  mill- 
tail,  for  the  spring  floods  were  coming  down,  and 
the  river  was  at  least  five  feet  above  its  banks,  I 
had  on  a  linked  steel  collar.  Exactly  how  it  became 
entangled  in  those  briars  I  do  not  know;  but,  when 
I  swung  around  with  the  bird  in  my  mouth,  to 
swim  back  to  the  shore,  imagine  mv  feelings  when  I 
found  that  I  was  held  fast,  as  it  chained  to  the 
briars.  To  breast  that  stream  unhampered  would 
have  been  task  enough  ;  but,  thus  held,  and  with 
the  bird  in  my  mouth,  it  was  impossible.  Each 
time  I  struggled  against  the  bush  the  recoil  bobbed 
me  down  in  the  water,  and,  with  mv  mouth  held 
open  by  the  bird,  I  got  a  drenching.  I  could  not 
have  stood  it  long,  and  would  not  let  go  the  bird. 

Then  I  saw  what  a  man  will  do  for  his  dog. 
Master,  not  realizing  what  had  happened,  had  gone 
away  after  a  bunch  ot  yellow-shank  plover  in  the 
swamp.  His  companion  called  to  him  that  I  was 
caught  in  the  flood  and  drowning.  He  started  back 
in  a  run,  but,  before  he  reached  me,  his  companion, 
armed  with  a  great  clasp-knife,  waded  out,  clothes 
and  all,  up  to  his  armpits,  and  cut  me  loose.  And 
a  very  cold  bath  he  had,  I  can  assure  vou.  With 
his   long  wading-pants   master   might   have  reached 


D 


lomec 


me,  no  doubt ;  but  I  think  I  would  have  been 
drowned  before  he  reached  me.  1  always  had  a 
very  soft  spot  in  mv  heart  after  that  tor  the  little 
doctor  who  rescued  me.  I  saved  his  bird  for  him, 
however,  and  manv  another  dav  I  hunted  to  his  gun. 
Years  afterwards  he  shot  over  me,  on  a  wager  with 
a  big  Englishman,  and  master  umpired  the  sport. 
Bv  the  memory  ot  the  dav  he  plunged  in  and  saved 
me,  I  favored  him  in  every  way  I  could. 


SJ 


Retrieving  a   Retriever. 

It  was  a  long  tramp  to  the  point  opposite  "  Deep 
Bottom,"  and  the  doctor  was  very  much  chilled 
when  he  reached  Silvv's.  She  was  always  prepared 
for  such  emergencies,  and  we  found  a  blazing  fire  in 
her  single  room  which  served  as  chamber  and  din- 
ing-room. The  doctor  stripped  off  and  got  into 
the  high  bed  ;  Master  and  Silvy  dried  his  clothes  ; 
and  Silvy  prepared  the  dinner,  in  the  midst  of  the 
mist  that  rose  from  the  smoking  garments. 


Diomed 


89 


Polite  society  would  be  shocked  at  the  utter  dis- 
regard tor  Silvv's  presence  shown  by  her  guests; 
and  the  costume  ot  the  little  doctor,  at  the  dinner 
of  fresh  shaci,  must  remain  undescribed.  It  may  be 
guessed  at  by  the  sententious  remark  of  Silvy,  that 
"  Dese  here  city  men  don't  pav  no  more  'tention  to 
wimmin  dan  ef  dey  was  dorgs."  But  Silyy  didn't 
mind  it.  She  ciijjyed  the  jokes  master  had  at  his 
two  retrievers,  anci,  when  we  bade  her  good-by,  and 
master  gave  her  some  money,  she  told  us  all  to  come 
again  and  assured  us  that  the  "  Deep  Botton  Hotel  " 
was  always  open  night  and  day  and  offered  first- 
class  accommodation  tor  man  and  beast. 

On  our  return  home  thev  put  me  in  the  foot  of 
the  vehicle,  but  I  behaved  so  badly  that  master  again 
put  me  out,  and  I  ran  all  the  way  back  to  Richmond; 
and  now,  1  could  not  run  five  miles. 

Thus  ended  my  first  snipe  hunt.  It  is  great 
sport,  but  snipe-hunting  in  Deep  Bottom  was  much 
harder  work  than  that  I  had  years  atterwards  in 
Florida. 


Miss  Silvia  Scott. 


Chapter  VI 

(1885) 
A  Blue-Blood  Rival 


SPENT  the  summer  and  early 

fall  of  the  year   1885  with  my 

old  trainer  Mr.   Turner,  who   was  rejoiced  to  have 

me  back,  and  seemed  proud  of  my  growth,  and  the 

manner  in  which  I  had  developed. 

There  was  not  much  to  do  in  a  hunting  way. 
Sometimes  we  made  little  excursions  in  boats  after 
summer  ducks,  and  he  had  several  days'  sport  with 
Sora  rail  ;  but  I  never  considered  that  rail  were  game 
birds,  and  took  little  interest  in  that.  In  October 
he  took  me  out  several  times  for  quail.  The  exer- 
cise thus  obtained  put  nie  in  excellent  condition  tor 
the  serious  work  of  the  hunting  season.  Master  was 
so  engaged  this  year,  in  a  thing  called  politics,  that 

90 


Dionied  91 

it  was  some  time  in  November  before  the  summons 
came  for  me  ;  but  I  heard  him  say,  when  I  did  get 
home,  that  the  result  had  left  him  all  the  time  he 
needed  for  hunting.  I  do  not  know  what  that  meant, 
but  I  do  look  back  to  the  fall  of  1885  as  one  of  the 
happiest  periods  of  mv  lite,  tor  we  hunted  nearly 
every  day. 

When  I  reached  home  I  found  master  had  a  new 
dog,  a  pointer  named  "  Sancho,"  presented  to  him 
by  a  rich  New  York  broker.  Now,  Sancho  was  a 
blue-blood  of  the  most  approved  quality.  He  had 
been  for  a  twelvemonth  in  the  hands  of  a  breaker, 
who  had  been  paid  handsomely  for  his  training,  and 
who,  as  usual,  reported  him  to  be  a  first-class  dog. 
The  gentleman  who  presented  him  passed  over  to 
master  a  printed  pedigree  with  pictures  on  it,  and 
the  breaker's  certificate,  which  named  quails,  snipes, 
woodcocks,  and  partridges  as  the  game  on  which  the 
dog  had  thorough  training.  Sancho  was  a  good-look- 
ing dog.  Master  was  so  enthusiastic  over  Sancho's 
looks,  and  Sancho's  pedigree,  and  Sancho's  this,  and 
that,  that  I  was  really  jealous  to  a  certain  extent.  I 
observed  Sancho  very  carefully.  He  was  not  a  bad 
sort  of  fellow,  and,  running  about  town  together,  as 
we  did  for  the  several  days  betore  we  left  home,  I 
noticed  Sancho  attracted  considerable  attention  by 
his  gallant  bearing.  He  talked  with  me  rather  glibly 
about  the  shooting  he  had  had  ;  but  there  was  some- 
thing indefinite  in  his  conversation  that  left  the 
impression  on  me  that  he  was  more  or  less  of  a 
tenderfoot.  "  However,"  thought  I,  "we  must  not 
judge  hastily  in  such  matters.  Sometimes  these 
birds  of  bright  plumage  are  really  fine.      I  will  wait 


r~ 


Diomed 


and  see  if  this   new  fav^orite  is  indeed  to  supplant 
me," 

After  a  pleasant  but  brief  stay  at  home  we  were 
off  once  more.  This  time  we  went  to  a  fivorite 
shooting-ground  of  ours  in  the  County  of  Amelia, 
about  thirty  miles  south  of  Richmond,  The  country 
now  visited  was  totally  unlike  that  of  the  James  River 
Valley.     The  Appomartox  River,  a  narrow  tortuous 


stream,  winds  through  the  section  I  am  now  describ- 
ing, but  there  is  httle  or  no  bottom  land,  and  the 
country  is  a  succession  of  gently  rolling  hills,  with 
small  streams,  called  "creeks,"  running  between 
them,  all  tributary  to  the  Appomattox.  Formerly, 
in  the  days  of  slavery,  this  was  a  highly  cultivated 
section,  where  prosperous  planters  dwelt  and  made 
large  crops  of  tobacco,  corn,  and  wheat.  At  the 
time  of  which  I  write,  the  old  planters  w-ere  dead, 
their  houses  gone  to  decay,  their  sons  and  daughters 


scattered  to  other  sections,  and  their  treed  slaves 
ahiiost  the  only  occupants  of  the  land.  What  were 
once  large  fields,  in  high  state  of  cultivation,  were 
then  covered  on  their  high  points  with  a  growth  of 
pines  standing  far  apart  in  tall  broom-sedge;  and 
only  the  hillsides,  and  the  little  valleys  along  the 
creeks,  presented  any  show  of  cultivation.  These 
broom-sedge  and  pines,  and  the  briars  and  under- 
growth along  the  streamlets,  furnished  the  homes 
of  innumerable  hares  and  quails.  Dog  and  man 
might  hunt  all  day  through  this  section  without 
passing  half  a  dozen  houses  of  whites ;  and  the 
colored  citizen  seldom  rises  to  the  dignity  of  a  bird 
dog,  although  he  is  a  great  hare-hunter.  No  doubt 
it  was  sad  to  our  masters  to  witness  such  desolation. 
One  day,  as  we  were  lying  under  a  noble  oak  near 
the  ruins  of  "  The  Lodge,"  once  the  home  of  Senator 
Archer  of  Virginia,  the  grounds  of  which  were  now 
scarcely  recognizable  from  the  surrounding  woods, 
I  heard  master  talking  very  sadly  of  these  changes. 
"Yes,"  said  he^  with  a  sigh,  "everything  hereabouts 
is  literally  gone  to  the  dogs."  But  what  was  their  loss 
was  our  gain  ;  and,  as  every  dog  has  his  day,  I  think 
the  day  of  the  dog  has  indeed  come  in  this  particular 
locality,  for  better  shooting-grounds  were  never  seen. 
As  I  have  already  indulged  in  poetry,  languages, 
description  of  landscape,  climatic  differences,  and 
other  subjects  not  ordinarily  falling  within  the  range 
of  dog  knowledge,  perhaps  I  may  as  well  add  a  bit  of 
history  or  tradition.  At  sundry  places  hereabouts 
there  is  a  luxuriant  growth  of  Scotch  broom.  It  is  a 
great  protection  from  hawks  and  foxes  to  the  quails, 
and  is  often  selected  as  their  breeding-ground.     1  well 


94  Diomed 

remember  hearing  master  one  day  ask  an  old  gentle- 
man resident  in  the  neighborhood  how  he  accounted 
for  the  presence  of  this  Scotch  broom.  The  reply 
was  that  this  was  the  route  traversed  by  Tarlton's 
cavalry  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  that,  accord- 
ing to  tradition,  they  brought  along  with  them,  in 
the  feed-bags  of  their  horses,  a  lot  of  Scotch  oats. 
That,  afterwards,  wherever  they  had  fed  on  the  road- 
side, this  Scotch  broom  had  sprung  up  ;  and  that 
several  planters  had  sought  to  utilize  the  broom  by 
planting  it  in  galled  places  on  their  plantations  where 
the  lands  were  incUned  to  wash  into  gullies,  so  that 
the  deep  and  wide-spreading  roots  ot  the  broom 
might  check  the  wash-outs  of  the  soil.  Well,  in 
this  locality  master  had  two  friends.  One  was  a 
country  phvsician  near  his  own  age  ;  the  other,  an 
old  gentleman  who  kept  bachelor's  hall  with  a 
widowed  sister  as  his  housekeeper.  He  was  the 
son  of  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  and  dwelt  in  a  house 
built  bv  his  father.  The  houses  of  the  gentlemen 
were  but  a  few  miles  apart,  and  we  seldom  knew, 
when  we  started  out  in  the  morning,  at  which  place 
we  would  stop  at  night.  Each  of  master's  friends 
was  the  soul  of  hospitality  and  kindness.  The 
doctor  had  been  a  sportsman  from  the  cradle,  and 
loved  it  with  a  genuine  passion.  He  was  not  in 
easy  circumstances,  for  war  had  swept  away  his 
entire  patrimony  ;  and,  while  he  had  saved  enough 
from  the  wreck  to  obtain  a  medical  education,  and 
was  now  engaged  in  active  practice  day  and  night, 
the  difficulty  of  collecting  money  was  such  that  he 
owned  but  one  horse,  which  he  was  compelled  to 
groom  himself      As  a  consequence,  our  hunts  were 


Dionicd  95 

often  on  the  round  of  the  doctor's  professional 
visits,  and  were  sometimes  made  with  one  man  atoot 
and  the  other  on  horseback,  but  more  frequently 
with  both  on  foot.  Hunting  afoot  was  not  hard 
work  in  this  locality,  as  some  of  the  best  shooting 
was  within  half  a  mile  of  the  house.  On  the  partic- 
ular occasion  of  this  visit  we  were  met  at  the  depot 
by  our  good  friend,  about  dark,  and  trudged  over, 
after  nightfall,  to  the  doctor's  home,  a  distance  of 
about  a  mile.  Our  walk  was  far  from  lonesome. 
The  doctor  was  a  very  companionable  man,  much 
interested  to  hear  what  was  going  on  in  the  city,  and 
was  himself  thoroughly  posted  as  to  the  prospects  ot 
good  sport.  Of  course,  the  first  thing  which  occu- 
pied all  attention,  when  we  landed  at  the  depot,  was 
Sancho. 

When  we  reached  the  house,  master  whipped  out 
Sancho's  pedigree,  from  his  pocket,  and  the  two  men 
studied  it  carefully.  The  doctor,  who  knew  the 
pedigree  of  every  well-bred  horse  and  of  all  the 
famous  dogs  in  America,  pronounced  it  a  very  fine 
one.  It  was  understood  that  he  was  to  have  San- 
cho, for  he  was  partial  to  pointers,  and  Sancho's 
points  were  gone  over  with  great  care,  and  he  was 
pronounced  to  be  a  promising  animal,  to  all  appear- 
ances. Two  beautiful  daughters  of  old  Vandevort's 
Don  were  dozing  on  the  floor.  One,  Amme,  mother 
ofOssian;  the  other,  Zobeide.  Both  were  delightful 
shooting-companions.  You  should  have  seen  the 
expression  of  disgust  that  came  over  these  two  when 
it  was  finally  decided  that  on  the  morrow  Sancho 
and  I  were  to  be  the  hunting-brace,  and  that  they 
would  be  left  at  home. 


^6  Diomed 

We  were  up  betimes  in  the  morning,  and  away  we 
started  afoot.  As  usual,  we  had  a  little  darky  to 
carry  the  luncheon  and  the  game-bag.  Sancho  was 
jubilant  at  the  start.  Off  we  sped  across  the  fields, 
scattering  the  hoar-frost  from  the  grass,  and  at  first 
leaving  tracks  in  the  stubble,  where  we  brushed  away 
the  dew,  like  the  wakes  of  two  vessels  on  the  sea. 
What  ?  Is  Sancho  really  pointing  in  the  rear  of  the 
stable  lot,  not  a  hundred  yards  from  the  house  ^ 
He  is,  in  truth.  And  here  I  am,  a  veritable  pot- 
terer  ;  for  I  never  even  tasted  scent  as  1  sped  quite 
near  to  where  he  points.  This  was  no  false  point 
of  Sancho's,  for  the  doctor  put  up  a  hare  to  his  point 
and  made  her  turn  a  handsome  somersault  as  she 
tried  to  speed  awav.  And  Sancho  retrieved  her 
nicely!  "Good  boy!"  "  Brave  Sancho  !  "  exclaimed 
the  sportsmen  as  thev  saw  his  work  ;  and  Sancho's 
stock  was  up,  and  Diomed's  stock  unnoticed,  in  the 
general  felicitations  that  followed.  One  hundred 
yards  away  and  Sancho  was  pointing  again  !  What  ! 
Have  we  a  magic  doo;  here  who  manufactures  birds 
and  hares  on  places  utterly  unpromising?  I 
promptly  backed  Sancho's  point.  Master  and  the 
doctor  hastened  up.  Sancho  was  ordered  to  move 
on  and  put  up  the  game  ;  but  he  stood  motionless. 
Master  lifted  him  with  his  foot,  but  Sancho  refused 
to  budge.  That  was  not  remarkable.  Some  dogs 
are  trained  to  hold  their  point  and  let  the  shooter 
put  up  the  game.  So  the  two  gunners  moved  tor- 
ward,  and  beat  about,  in  front  of  Sancho  ;  but  there 
was  no  sign  of  fur  or  feather,  and  at  last  they  gave 
it  up.  AlthouQ;h  ordered  on  repeatedly,  Sancho  stood 
motionless  ;  so  1  came  forward,  and,  beating  all  about. 


Dioiiied  97 

soon  satisfied  niyselt  and  the  shooters  that  it  was  a 
false  point.  The  only  thing  like  game  was  a  brown 
rock,  half  covered  by  a  tuft  of  grass,  somewhat  sug- 
gestive of  a  crouching  rabbit. 

My  master  detested  a  talse  pointer  as  much  as 
any  man  I  ever  saw.  Sancho  finallv  broke  his 
point,  and  rushed  turiouslv  arounci  as  if  sure  some- 
thing; would  rise.  But  it  was  all  excitement  and 
nothing  more.  Off  we  started  again.  We  had  not 
gone  far,  when,  at  the  head  ot  a  little  swale,  Sancho, 
going  in  full  career,  suddenly  stopped  short,  and 
pointed  once  more.  That  he  had  game  this  time 
seemed  more  probable.  There  was  a  covey  in  that 
neighborhood,  we  knew.  Imagine,  then,  our  sur- 
prise, when,  on  coming  up,  the  only  thing  in  front 
of  Sancho  was  an  old  sow,  Iving  in  the  broom-sedge, 
suckling  a  litter  of  young  pigs.  Up  she  jumped, 
when  we  drew  near,  and,  with  bristles  up,  charged 
Sancho,  who  ran  off  a  few  yards,  and,  with  cocked 
ears  and  tucked  tail,  looked  half  frightened  and 
half  ashamed.  Both  the  doctor  and  master  loved 
fun,  and  the  ludicrousness  of  Sancho's  performances 
began  to  dawn  upon  them.  As  for  me,  I  was  so 
disgusted  I  galloped  off  by  myself  to  ascertain  if 
there  were  really  any  birds  about;  feeling  well 
assured  that  Sancho  was  one  of  those  many  city- 
broke  dogs  who  have  been  taught  to  point,  and  will 
point  anything,  or  nothing,  and,  beyond  that,  have 
no  sense  and  no  experience.  I  found  the  covey. 
When  I  did  so,  Sancho  backed  me  a  hundred  yards 
away.  When  the  birds  were  scattered  among  the 
briars  along  a  ditch  bank,  Sancho  had  no  idea  of 
following  them  ;    and  when,  once  or  twice,  he  ven- 


98 


Diomed 


tured  near  the  rank  briars,  and  they  raked  his  glossy 
coat,  he  gave  yelps  of  pain.  We  had  fine  sport  on 
the  scattered  birds  ;  but  never  a  point  did  he  make. 
His  next  point  was  on  the  doctor  himself.  The 
doctor  was  in  advance  of  us,  and  came  to  the  cross- 
ing of  a  brook.  There,  he  set  his  gun  against  a  bank, 
and  was  on  his  hands  and  knees,  drinking,  as  Sancho 


Sancho    Points   the   Doctor. 

came  up.  At  sight  of  him  Sancho  promptly  pointed 
him.  When  master  and  I  came  up,  and  master  saw 
this  last  point,  he  was  convulsed  with  merriment. 
The  doctor,  looking  back  over  his  shoulder,  saw 
himself,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  pointed  as  game ; 
and  joined  heartily  in  the  fun.  It  had  grown  warm, 
and  master  had  slipped  off  his  red  waistcoat.  The 
young  darky  had  put  his  arms  through  the  armholes 
to  carry  it  conveniently.  It  was  large  enough  tor 
his  overcoat  and  gave  him  a  ludicrous  appearance. 


Diomed 


99 


1    i 


^^    .L. 


,j?^ 


-^^^^ 


^'v^ 


Pointing  the  Little  Negro. 

While  we  were  shooting,  the  little  fellow  had  sought 
a  sunnv  spot  in  the  woods,  where,  seating  himself 
beside  a  tree,  he  had  dozed  off.  Sancho  galloped 
quite  near  to  him  before  he  saw  him.  When  he  did 
see  him,  he  promptly  pointed  him,  red  waistcoat  and 
all.  The  joyous  peals  of  laughter  from  the  gunners 
could  have  been  heard  half  a  mile  away,  when  master 
and  the  doctor  came  up  and  saw  the  little  nigger 
dozing  placidly  on  a  clump  of  grass  beneath  a  per- 
simmon tree,  pointed  stiffly  by  Sancho,  with  glaring 
eyes.  Startled  by  the  noise,  the  boy  scrambled  to 
his  feet ;  and  Sancho,  equally  startled,  ran  oft  a  few 
yards,  barking  at  him  idiotically.  I  can  truly  say  I 
think  that  Sancho,  after  his  first  point  on  a  hare, 
never  made  an  honest  point  during  that  entire  day. 
We  found  birds  in  plenty  —  that  is,  I  did;  but  it 
seemed  to  all  of  us  that  the  presence  of  birds  was 
sufficient  to  destroy  all  interest  or  desire  to  hunt  on 


loo  Diomed 

the  part  of  Sancho.  It  was  only  when  no  game 
was  in  si2;ht  that  he  developed  a  desire  to  hunt  or  to 
point.  He  never  found  a  covey  during  that  day; 
and,  as  to  working  on  single  birds,  he  seemed  to 
have  no  idea  what  it  meant.  I  saw  him,  more  than 
once,  trot  over  the  spots  where  single  birds  were 
lying,  and  put  them  up,  without  even  stopping; 
although  he  did  sometimes  back  me  very  stylishly. 
From  time  to  time,  as  if  he  telt  he  ought  to  do  some- 
thing, he  pointed  different  objects,  not  game,  in  the 
most  brilliant  and  startling  way.  In  a  quiet  southern 
exposure  in  the  pines  an  old  white  cow  was  lying 
down,  contentedlv  chewing  her  cud.  Coming  upon 
her  rather  suddenly,  Sancho  gave  us  a  most  stylish 
point.  A  large  cedar  bush  concealed  her  from  the 
gunners,  who  advanced,  with  guns  on  the  alert,  and 
with  beating  hearts,  tor  it  was  a  very  "  birdy  "  look- 
ing spot.  When  master  discovered  this  last  practical 
joke  of  Sancho's,  he  was  ready  to  shoot  him.  Again, 
when,  in  another  sunny  spot,  we  lav  down  tor  a  little 
rest,  Sancho,  coming  up  trom  where  he  had  been  hunt- 
ing, deliberately  pointed  us.  Discovering  his  mistake, 
he  rushed  up  to  us, knocking  over  master's  gun,  which 
was  standing  against  a  pine  tree;  and,  as  the  muzzle 
struck  him  in  the  side,  master  said  in  utter  disgust, 
"  I  wish  it  had  exploded  and  blown  your  worthless 
head  off,  you  confounded  cur!"  Poor  Sancho  did 
not  appreciate  this  state  of  feeling.  By  this  time  he 
was  thoroughly  tired,  and  glad  enough  to  flop  him- 
self down  on  the  warm  pine  tags,  after  first  trying  to 
lick  the  faces  of  the  men.  He  remembered  the  kind- 
ness and  petting  of  the  night  before,  and  had  no  idea 
of  the  contempt  that  had  supplanted  these  feelings. 


D 


loniec 


lO'I 


"  Arniistcacl,"  said  master,  contcniplati\elN',  address- 
ing the  doctor  bv  his  first  name,  "  1  don't  know  that  I 
have  ever  before  seen  an  idiot  doer,  but  I  am  satisfied 
this  dog  is  an  icHot."  "  ^'es,  I  think  he  is,"  saitl  the 
doctor.  "  But  it  mav  be  he  has  been  ahiiost  ruined  in 
breaking  and  will  do  better.  Possiblv  he'll  show  up 
better  this  atternoon."      But  he  diel  not.      Until  the 


Sar 


vis  a  tergo. 


sun  went  down  and  the  evening  shadows  crept  in  upon 
us,  Sancho  went  on  false-pointing,  and  a  more  utterlv 
worthless  animal  never  went  afield.  Master  lost  all 
patience  with  him,  and  when  Sancho  would  whirl  into 
one  of  these  mar\'ellous  points,  he  would  be  roused 
from  his  cataleptic  attitude  by  a  kick,  given  with  the 
full  force  of  a  thick  hunting-shoe,  that  would  have  sent 
him  howling  into  the  midst  of  a  covev,  if  anv  covey 
had  been  there.      Poor  Sancho  seemed  badlv  broken 


IQ2  Diomed 

up  by  these  surprising  kicks.  They  knocked  the 
hunting  spirit  out  of  him  for  a  time.  After  one  of 
them  he  would  trot  along  behind  the  gunners  until 
the  shock  wore  off.  Then,  regaining  confidence 
somewhat,  he  would  venture  out  once  more  to  make 
another  false  point,  and  to  receive  another  tremen- 
dous jar  from  behind. 

The  doctor  enjoyed  the  performance  as  much  as 
if  he  had  been  attending  a  farce.  He  was  a  great 
wag,  and  spent  his  time  teasing  master  most  unmer- 
cifully. As  we  approached  the  house  that  evening, 
through  a  long  avenue  of  aspens,  master  said, 
"  Well,  he  seems  to  be  a  hopeless  brute,  but  I'll 
leave  him  with  you,  and  you  may  be  able  to  bring 
him  out."  "Not  much,"  was  the  quick  reply;  "1 
would  not  undertake  to  hunt  that  dog  for  five  hun- 
dred dollars  cash.  Take  him  away  from  here. 
Give  him  away.  1  have  kept  you  from  shooting 
him  more  than  once  to-day  ;  but  I  could  not  resist 
the  inclination  to  do  it  myself,  if  left  alone  with  him." 

You  should  have  seen  the  expression  of  those  two 
men,  when  they  were  met  on  the  portico  by  the  in- 
nocent inquiry  from  the  lady  of  the  house,  "  Well, 
how  did  your  new  dog  hunt  ?  " 

As  Sancho,  dead  tired,  dropped  down  on  the 
planks,  a  look  of  unutterable  disgust  spread  over 
the  faces  of  both  men,  followed  by  a  burst  of  forced 
laughter.  All  that  master  would  say  was  that  he 
knew  a  man  who  wanted  him.  The  next  morning, 
just  after  daylight,  we  started  for  the  train.  Sancho 
was  fresh  again,  and,  galloping  ahead  of  us,  pointed 
in  grand  style  on  the  roadside.  Master,  without 
taking  his  gun  from   his  shoulder,  and  with  an  ex- 


Diomed  103 

clamatioii  of  contempt,  litted  Sancho  with  his  boot. 
The  kick  actually  precipitated  Sancho  into  the  very 
midst  ot  one  ot  the  finest  covevs  of  birds  I  ever 
saw.  Up  they  whirred,  all  around  us,  and  settled 
in  a  beautitul  spot  for  shooting.  But  we  could  not 
follow  them,  as  it  was  nearly  train  time.  This  last 
point  saved  Sancho,  for  the  time  being.  We  took 
him  back  with  us  to  Amelia  a  few  days  later,  to 
give  him  another  chance.  It  was  all  in  vain.  The 
second  time  he  was  worse,  if  possible,  than  the  first. 
Late  in  the  afternoon  master  overtook  a  boy  on  the 
road,  and  asked  him  it  he  wanted  a  fine  dog.  The 
boy  accepted  the  offer  joyfully.  Then  and  there 
master  tied  a  string  in  Sancho's  collar ;  his  new 
owner  seized  the  dog,  and,  when  last  seen,  was 
dragging  Sancho  away,  as  he  struggled  and  looked 
back  imploringly  to  us.  Poor  Sancho  !  Two  years 
afterwards  I  met  him,  and  he  told  me  he  was  owned 
by  a  painter  living  in  the  suburbs  of  Richmond,  who 
regarded  him  as  a  first-class  field  dog.  Three  years 
later  I  hunted  several  times  with  two  daughters  of 
Sancho,  and  they  were  really  excellent  dogs.  It  was 
surprising  to  me  to  see  how  much  intelligence  the 
offspring  of  such  a  parent  displayed. 

I  have  been  so  intent  on  describing  the  wonderful 
doings  of  friend  Sancho,  that  I  have  entirely  omitted 
several  episodes  of  the  hunt  just  described,  in  strong 
contrast,  I  think,  with  Sancho's  conduct. 

Towards  evening,  in  a  place  called  "  Fairy  wood," 
I  came  upon  the  scent  of  birds,  and,  working  them 
up,  did  some  things  which  I  will  describe  ;  the  rea- 
sons for  which  appear  at  the  conclusion  of  the  re- 
cital.     Ordinarily,    I    crouched   low,  and   was   very 


104  Diomed 

rigid  on  point.  On  this  occasion,  when  I  came  to 
point,  I  stood  up  very  erect;  and,  instead  ot  being 
rigid,  I  turned  my  head  first  to  the  right  then  to  the 
left,  repeating  this  movement  until  I  backed  out  cau- 
tiously from  my  position.  Master,  who  was  watch- 
ing me  very  intently,  said  to  the  doctor,  "What  is 
the  matter  with  that  dog  ?  I  never  saw  him  act  in 
that  manner  before.  1  think  Sancho's  idiocy  must 
be  catchingr."  But  I  knew  mv  business.  When  I 
had  retreated  sufficientlv,  I  ran  around  in  great  cir- 
cles. This  conduct  puzzled  the  shooters  more  than 
ever.  Shortening  my  circles  each  time  I  ran  around, 
1  finally  re-established  mv  point.  You  may  be  sure 
there  was  no  lack  of  intensity  in  mv  point  now. 
"  He  has  found  them  feeding,  and  driven  them  to- 
gether," said  master,  as  they  stepped  up  to  take 
their  shots.  He  was  not  right  in  his  conjecture. 
W^hen  the  birds  rose,  he  knew  whv  I  was  uncertain 
in  my  first  point ;  and  whv  I  backed  myself  out ; 
and  why  I  had  run  around  in  circles.  It  was  be- 
cause I  had  found  two  coveys  feeding  near  together, 
and,  when  I  first  stood,  I  was  between  the  two.  I 
had  backed  out  to  avoid  flushing  either  ;  ran  around 
them  until  I  drove  them  together  ;  and  then  pointed 
them  from  a  position  where  no  confusion  would  re- 
sult when  they  rose.  Master  often  told  this  story 
with  great  satisfaction  as  evidencing  my  good  judg- 
ment;  and,  as  the  incident  was  a  little  unusual,  I 
trust  I  may  be  permitted  to  insert  it  vyithout  being 
considered  unduly  vain.  It  is,  I  think,  a  better  piece 
of  work  than  pointing  a  live  bird,  while  fetching  a 
dead  bird  in  my  mouth.  Pointing  in  that  way  was 
quite  common  with  me,  and  I  never  could  tell  why 


Diomed 


105 


men  regard  it  as  in  any  way  wonderful,  ^'ou  see,  a 
dog's  nose  projeets  beyond  his  mouth,  and  his  smell- 
ing nerves  pass  over  his  mouth  and  reach  the  brain 
beyond  whatever  lie  has  in  his  mouth.  A  dog  may 
have  his  mouth  full  without  smelling  what  is  in  it, 
and  thus  it  vvas  on  numerous  occasions  that,  return- 
ing to  master,  with  a  dead  bird  in  my  mouth,  I 
have,  without  dropping  the  dead  bird,  pointed  one 
ot  his  companions  hidden  in  the  grass  over  which  I 
was  returning. 


.-   ji^l^ 


:  de- 


"  Good-by,  Sancho." 


Chapter  VII 

(1886) 
Fresh   Fields  and   Pastures   New 


Ewjiiimnwii 


^  v.: 


^r-  was  August,  hot,  suhry  August,  just  such 
baking  weather  as  men  call  dog-days. 
Our  home  was  the  coolest  spot  I  could  find.  The 
wide  verandah  in  its  rear,  or  the  basement  area, 
were  the  only  places  about  the  premises  where  I 
could  lie  with  any  comfort,  to  pant  away  the  heated 
hours.  When  I  attempted  to  follow  master  along 
the  paved  streets,  my  feet  were  almost  blistered. 
The  only  endurable  part  of  the  day  was  late  in  the 
evening,' after  the  sun  had  gone  down.  Then  master 
would  take  the  children  and  their  boat,  and,  with 
old  Jennie  and  the  phaeton,  drive  to  the  Reservoir 
lake,  I  scampering  by  their  side.  There  we  would 
have  our  own  jolly  time,  until  it  was  too  dark  to  see. 

106 


Diomed  107 

I  was  ver\'  fond  ot  the  water,  and  as  the  Httle  vacht 
"  America  "  floated  about,  1  added  to  the  amusement 
of  the  children  hv  retrieving  ev^erything  and  anything 
thev  cast  into  the  hike.  How  young  it  makes  me 
feel  when  I  recall  those  happy  days.  I  can  hear  the 
merry  shouts  oi  the  children  as  I  would  plunge  in, 
and,  swimming  back  to  the  shore,  dash  among  them, 
holding;  in  mv  mouth  whatever  they  had  thrown, 
and  shake  the  water  from  mv  sides  all  over  them,  in 
the  very  spirit  ot  mischief.  How  they  scampered 
away  from  me  to  avoid  my  showers,  I  following, 
romping  and  barking  !  Then  would  come  the  run 
back  in  the  evening  shadows,  after  the  refreshing 
bath  ;  and  then  the  bright  tea-table,  where  the  chil- 
dren told  their  stories  ot  our  sports;  and  the  delicious 
tidbits  which  master  offered  as  the  price  of  speaking. 
Speaking?  Yes;  dog  speaking  meant  barking  at 
the  command  to  talk,  —  a  pertormance  which,  while 
very  amusing  to  the  little  ones,  was,  1  fear,  not  always 
so  acceptable  to  mistress. 

Pardon  me,  dear  reader,  if  I  grow  reminiscent. 
Those  were  very  happy  days  with  me  and  with  the 
children,  even  if  the  sun  was  very  hot.  They  loved 
me,  and  I  loved  them.  They  are  grown  men  now, 
one  a  soldier,  one  a  lawver,  another  at  college, — 
scattered  hither  and  thither.  And  1  ?  Well,  I  am 
only  an  old,  teeble  dog,  whose  day  of  usefulness  is 
gone  ;  too  old  to  hunt ;  cared  for  and  loved,  not  for 
what  I  am,  but  tor  what  I  have  been  ;  w'aiting,  w'ait- 
ing,  for  what?  Alas!  I  know  not.  It  was  but 
yesterday  that,  stretched  upon  the  floor  asleep,  I 
was  aroused  by  the  sympathetic  words,  "  Poor  old 
Di !     He  is  dreaming  ot  some  hunt  of  long  ago." 


io8  Diomed 

No  doubt  I  had  been  lying  there  with  twitching  legs 

and  little  stifled  barks ;    for,  in   truth,   I    had  been 

dreaming  of  the  days  we  spent  in  Minnesota,  eight 

years  ago.      But  enough  of  this.      Let  us  go  back. 

I   knew  what  it  meant  when   a  wagon  drove  up 

one  August  atternoon  in  i8S6,  and  Eva,  Dolon,  and 

I  were  bundled  into  a  wicker  crate  and  started  for 

the  depot.      Master,  Mr.  Selden,  and  young  master 

had  talked  it  all  over  in  my  presence.      We  were  off 

for   Minnesota,  wherever  that  was  ;  to  shoot  prairie 

chickens,  whatever  they  might  be.      Little  Eva  was 

named  after  my  mother.      She  was    mv  cousin    on 

one   side   and    niece   on    the    other ;    for  dogs    have 

queer  kinships.      Dolon  was  a  most  beautiful  little 

pointer,  son  of  the  famous  Meteor,  and  halt-brother 

of  mv  friend,  Young  Beulah.      Both  Eva  and  Dolon 

were  voung  and  very  much  disposed  to  be  alarmed  ; 

but  I  told  them  what  I  knew  ot'our  destination,  and 

they  were  soon   reasonably  quiet.      Had    I    known 

what  a  weary  jaunt  was  in  store  for  us,  I  doubt  if  I 

should  have  felt  so  elated.     All  night  we  thundered 

along.     The  next  morning,  when    master  came  to 

feed  us,  I  saw  we  were  in  the  mountains.      I  heard 

them    call    the    place    Kanawha    Ealls.      Again,    all 

day,  we  sped  westward.      Sometimes,  when  the  great 

trunks  were  thrown   into  the  baggage-car  pell-mell, 

it  seemed  as  if  we  would  be  crushed.      Through  the 

open   doors   ot  the  car  the  pleasant  breezes  rushed 

in,  and  we  could  see  that  we  were  running  through 

great   rolling   fields    of  blue-grass,   where   herds    ot 

cattle  and  horses  were  feeding,  in  a  land  men  called 

Kentucky.      Still  flying  onward,  at  dark  we  crossed 

a  hio-h  bridge  over  a  silent  river  crowded  with  steam- 
to  o 


iio  Diomed 

ers,  far  below  us  ;  with  many  lights  twinkling  be- 
yond, at  a  place  they  called  Cincinnati.  Then  we 
were  roughly  jostled  and  hauled  across  the  cobble- 
stones to  another  depot,  whence  we  travelled  all 
night.  In  the  early  morning  we  were  running 
along  the  shores  of  a  cool,  bright  lake,  and  at  last 
we  stopped  at  a  place  men  called  Chicago.  There, 
thank  goodness,  we  rested.  I  was  very  much 
fatigued  myself,  and  do  not  believe  poor  little 
Eva  and  Dolon  could  have  stood  the  confinement 
much  longer.  Master  came  and  released  us.  The 
air  was  much  cooler  than  at  home,  and  we  were  all 
refreshed  by  the  exercise.  Our  crate  was  sent  to 
another  depot,  and  we  were  taken  to  a  fine  hotel. 
My  !  how  I  enjoyed  a  plunge  in  the  cool  lake,  and 
how  disgusted  I  was  with  those  silly  youngsters, 
Eva  and  Dolon,  who  refused  to  join  me  in  my 
bath.  It  was  early  morning.  The  throngs  of 
people  who  crowd  the  streets  of  great  Chicago  in 
the  busy  hours  had  not  yet  come  out ;  so  we  were 
permitted  to  run  upon  the  streets.  We  amused 
ourselves  snifiling  at  the  cool  blocks  of  ice  which 
stood  here  and  there  on  the  sidewalks,  awaiting  the 
opening  of  the  stores  ;  and  had  a  good  time  gener- 
ally, until  a  big  fat  policeman  told  master  that  it 
was  against  something — I  think  he  said  "the  City 
Ordinances"  —  for  dogs  to  run  at  large.  Then  we 
were  put  on  chain,  and  up  the  street  we  all  marched, 
like  a  procession,  to  our  hotel.  Chicago  is  a  great 
place,  no  doubt.  It  struck  me,  however,  that  it 
was  not  a  good  place  for  dogs.  I  heard  master  tell 
one  man  that  there  were  some  dirty  dogs  in  Chicago. 
That  was  a  man  who  kicked  at  me  for  smelling  his 


Diomed  i  i  i 

ice.  All  three  ot  us  dogs  canie  near  being  made 
sick  in  Chicago.  Master  put  us  in  charge  of  a 
darky  at  the  hotel,  and  I  heard  him  tell  him  not 
to  feed  us  heavily.  Now  that  darky  was  a  Virginia 
darky,  and  he  was  so  delighted  at  seeing  Virginia 
gentlemen  and  Virginia  dogs,  that,  when  he  fed  us, 
he  gave  us  enough  scraps  ot  tenderloin  beefsteak  to 
founder  a  whole  kennel.  We  had  partaken  quite 
sparingly  of  the  dry  dog-biscuits  on  which  we  had 
been  ted  on  the  cars,  and  our  appetites  had  been 
whetted  by  the  run  and  the  cool  northern  air.  You 
should  have  seen  us  bolt  that  food.  The  darkv  fed 
us  until  we  could  eat  no  more.  To  the  suggestion 
of  some  looker-on  that  he  was  giving  us  too  much, 
he  replied  indignantly,  "  Never  you  mind.  I  know 
my  bizness.  Dese  here  ain't  no  common  dorgs. 
Dese  here  is  Virginny  dorgs,  and  dev's  got  to  hab 
the  bes'  in  de  shop." 

When  master  and  Mr.  Selden  returned  for  us,  an 
hour  or  two  later,  thev  found  three  animals  with 
bulging  sides,  looking  like  dogs  that  had  been 
drowned  several  days  before.  It  was  tuUy  thirty- 
six  hours  before  any  of  us  had  the  slightest  incli- 
nation to  eat  again,  although  the  quantity  of  water 
we  consumed  was  something  marvellous. 

Master's  remarks  to  that  darky  were  very  em- 
phatic. When  he  pocketed  the  money  which  master 
gave  him  for  caring  for  us,  he  must  hav^e  had  some 
modified  views  about  the  language  used  by  "  \'ir- 
ginny  gentlemen"  if  not  about  "Virginny  dorgs." 

When  we  were  taken  to  another  depot  that  atter- 
noon,  and  returned  to  our  own  crates,  we  tound 
another  crate,  containing   a    handsome   dog,  beside 


1 1  2  Diomed 

ours  ;  and  although  I  was  still  in  a  state  of  stupor, 
I  vaguely  apprehended  that  it  was  my  brother  Jack. 
His  master  had  sent  him  up  from  Vincennes,  Indi- 
ana, to  join  us.  Under  ordinary  circumstances  I 
would  have  greeted  Jack  most  cordially  ;  but  being 
gorged  with  tood  until  I  was  almost  comatose,  1 
merely  cast  a  glance  ot  my  bloodshot  eyes  at  him, 
and  curled  myself  up  for  a  sodden,  stupid  sleep. 
Once  more  we  were  off.  We  passed  places  called 
Milwaukee,  La  Crosse,  Winona,  and  Mankato, 
speeding  westward  for  two  nights  and  a  day.  At 
last,  thoroughly  wearied  out  by  travel,  we  reached 
our  destination,  a  little  prairie  town  in  southwestern 
Minnesota,  named  Fulda. 

This  was  a  long  way  from  home  for  a  dog.  We 
had  been  travelling  four  nights  and  three  days.  It 
seemed  to  me  to  be  an  altogether  new  world  that  we 
had  reached.  Since  our  departure  from  Chicago, 
the  opportunity  to  see  the  country  over  which  we 
passed  had  been  verv  poor,  even  if  I  had  been  in 
condition  to  observe  it.  When  the  train  moved  off 
and  left  us  on  the  platform  at  Fulda,  I  thought  I 
had  never  seen  such  boundless  space  as  that  about 
us,  or  such  stillness.  Master  said  we  were  over  fif- 
teen hundred  miles  trom  home.  When  we  were 
unboxed,  feeling  much  better  than  I  did  the  day 
before,  I  ran  up  to  Jack  in  a  cordial  way,  to  greet 
my  brother.  Jack  was  very  dignified  in  his  manner 
and  disposed  to  be  distant.  He  said  he  had  been 
much  hurt  by  my  coolness  and  indifference  at  our 
first  meeting,  and  that  he  had  resolved  to  treat  me 
in  the  same  manner  thenceforth.  I  frankly  told  the 
old  boy  just  the  fix  I  was  in,  and  how  it  had  all  come 


niomcd  T  I  -J 

about;  and  how  sorrv  I  was  tor  it;  and  how  really 
glad  I  was  to  see  him.  He  was  too  noble  a  tellow, 
too  healthy  and  too  generous,  not  to  forgive  me  ; 
and  then  and  there  we  made  it  up,  and  had  a  hearty 
lauu;h  over  it,  and  were  sworn  friends  from  that  time 
forth.  We  were  not  only  friends  in  sunshine,  but 
in  misfortune  also,  on  several  occasions,  as  you  will 
see. 

Securing  a  wagon,  into  which  the  men  and  dog- 
boxes  were  soon  loaded,  we  started  across  the  prairies 
for  another  little  town,  called  Avoca,  which  was  to  be 
our  headquarters.  What  surprised  me  most  in  this 
strange  land  was  the  boundless  extent  of  the  fields  ; 
the  utter  lack  of  fences  and  trees  ;  the  absence  of  the 
high  hills  to  which  I  had  always  been  accustomed  ; 
and  the  luxuriance  of  the  beautiful  prairie  flowers  and 
grasses.  The  roads  were  nothing  but  tracks,  across 
this  endless  level  space  carpeted  with  green  ot  every 
shade,  and  yellow,  and  gold,  and  scarlet.  The  soil, 
wherever  the  grass  had  been  worn  from  it,  was  as 
black  as  tar,  and  the  sod  was  very  springy.  Jack  and 
I  were  allowed  to  run.  We  felt  as  if  we  should  never 
tire  of  hunting  in  this  bracing  air,  upon  the  unob- 
structed plain.  Now  Jack  had  travelled  a  much 
shorter  distance  than  mvselt,  and  besides  had  had 
no  such  meal  as  that  frightful  gorge  of  Chicago  beet- 
steak.  It  was  with  great  chagrin  that  I  saw  him 
outfoot  me  easily  in  the  first  mile  we  ran  on  the 
Minnesota  prairies.  Nor  was  I  flattered  when 
Mr.  Selden  cried  out  from  the  wagon,  "Ah  ha! 
old  fellow,  vouVe  got  a  match  for  vourselt  now." 
Mr.  Selden  was  a  great  tease.  I  believe  he  was 
already  becoming  jealous   ot   me   because  of  Dicky 


114  Diomed 

Don,  who  was  now  a  grown  dog,  giving  every  prom- 
ise of  being  an  unusuallv  fine  field  dog,  and  with 
whom  he  frequently  declared  his  purpose  to  defeat 
me. 

As  yet  we  saw  no  signs  of  pran^ie  chickens.  Out 
of  the  ox-eve  daisies  and  the  golden-rod,  meadow- 
larks  and  ortolans  rose  in  numbers  ;  for  we  had  not 
vet  reached  the  fields  ot  wheat  and  flax  stubble  where 
prairie  chickens  are  found.  Jack  and  I,  bounding 
along  filled  with  life  and  high  spirits,  were  wild  for 
something  to  hunt.  Here  and  there  we  saw,  sitting 
up  at  their  holes,  little  "gophers,"  which  we  call 
ground-squirrels  in  the  East.  At  these  w'e  would 
rush  excitedlv,  only  to  see  them,  when  we  were  a  tew 
vards  awav,  tilt  over  and  disappear  into  the  earth. 
A  little  farther  on  another  gopher  would  be  sitting 
upright  at  his  hole,  invnting  us  to  try  our  luck  on 
him.  At  him  would  we  rush,  only  to  see  him  dis- 
appear. Looking  back  to  where  we  saw  the  first 
one,  we  would  see  him  pop  out  once  more,  resume 
the  place  whence  we  had  trightened  him,  and  sit  there 
like  a  little  pagan  idol.  Nothing  could  have  been 
more  tantalizing.  Jack  and  I  resolved  that  we 
w'ould  not  stand  it.  Each  picking  out  a  hole  into 
which  we  had  seen  a  gopher  disappear,  we  began 
digging  with  our  paws,  and  rooting  with  our  noses, 
until  we  were  covered  with  dirt  and  half  blinded. 

In  vain  master  whistled  and  called  for  us  from  the 
wagon,  now  far  away.  We  scratched  and  rooted  on, 
as  if  our  lives  depended  on  it,  until  he  came  back  to 
us,  whip  in  hand,  and  drove  us  off.  We  little  knew 
in  what  foolish  work  we  were  engaged.  An  old  halt- 
bred  pointer  we  met  at  Avoca,  hearing  us  talking 


Dionied 


T15 


about  it,  laughed  at  us  antl  told  us  that  those  gopher 
holes  ran  many  yards  under  the  earth  and  had  as 
many  as  a  dozen  openings  :  and  that  we  might  have 
scratclied  until  we  wore  our  feet  out  and  blinded  our- 
seK'es,  witliout  catching  a  single  gopher.  We  nearly 
broke  ourselves  down,  and  worried  master  exceed- 
ingly, in  our  pursuit  of  the  gophers.  1^'inallv,  when 
we   would    chase    a    gopher    and    begin    to    scratch, 


A   Western  View  of  Eastern   Dogs. 

master  would  catch  us  with  our  heads  down,  and 
pepper  us  sharply  with  shot.  Of  course  he  fired  at 
us  from  such  a  distance  that  the  shot  only  stung  us  ; 
but  Jack  and  I  were  pretty  thoroughly  sprinkled 
with  shot  marks  before  we  stopped  this  foolishness. 
Forging  along  abreast  the  wagon,  we  at  last  saw 
some  larger  game.  Two  animals,  very  prettily 
striped  with  black  and  white,  looking  like  little 
house-cats,  but  with  bushier  tails,  trotted  off  rather 
slowly  from  a  bunch  of  grass  at  our  approach. 

No  sooner  did  we  lay  eyes  on   them   than  Jack 


1 1 6  Diomed 

and  I  bolted  for  them.  They  evidently  had  no 
purpose  to  go  to  holes,  for,  as  Jack  charged  one  and 
I  the  other,  each  roached  his  back  and  showed  his 
teeth  in  a  manner  indicating  fight.  We  began  to 
circle  about  them  for  our  openings.  In  another 
instant  we  would  have  had  them  by  their  backs, 
when,  faugh  !  there  was  a  yellowish  mist  in  the 
air ;  something  wet  and  cold  filled  my  face  and 
eyes  ;  I  never  smelt  anything  in  my  life  so  terrible 
and  suffocating;  and  I  fairly  rolled  over  on  my 
head,  scratching,  and  rubbing  my  face  in  the  dirt, 
in  the  effort  to  be  rid  of  the  horrible  odor.  I  was 
almost  blinded.  When  I  was  able  to  stop  sneezing 
and  to  get  a  look  at  Jack,  he  was  in  about  my  own 
predicament,  and  our  two  pretty  proposed  victims 
were  out  of  sight.  Master,  Mr.  Selden,  and  young 
master  were  sitting  in  the  wagon,  roaring  with  merri- 
ment at  our  plight,  and  1  could  see  the  puppies  Eva 
and  Dolon  peering  out  wonderingly.  Atter  this. 
Jack  and  I  would  fain  have  come  in  and  trotted  a 
while  near  the  wagon  ;  but  our  masters  would  not 
permit  it.      They  ordered  us  peremptorily  away. 

Upon  reaching  a  little  fork  of  the  Des  Moines 
River,  we  went  in  and  soaked  ourselves  for  a  long 
time;  but  the  odor  of  our  striped  friends  clung  to 
us  so  tenaciously  that,  for  ciays,  we  were  kept  in  an 
out-house  and  were  not  allowed  to  approach  the 
house.  Of  course  the  reader  has  heard  of  the  pole- 
cat or  skunk.  This  was  the  animal  we  had  attacked. 
After  that  we  saw  many  of  them,  —  the  prairies 
abound  with  them,  —  but  Jack  and  I  always  man- 
aged to  go  in  a  different  direction  when  we  found 
ourselves  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  skunk. 


Diomed 


117 


Pole-car. 

It  was  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning;  when  we 
reached  the  house  where  we  were  to  remain  during 
our  Minnesota  hunt.  It  was  the  queerest  sort  ot 
Httle  structure.  The  landlord  was  a  man  named 
Coleman.  He  had  been  a  Union  soldier,  anci  every- 
thing- was  conducted  in  military  style.  Master  had 
been  a  Contederate  soldier.  This  circumstance,  in- 
stead of  making  the  two  men  dislike  each  other, 
seemed  to  be  a  bond  of  friendship  between  them. 
Their  commands  had,  it  seems,  been  opposite  each 
other  in  the  siege  of  Petersburg,  and,  gracious  g;ood- 
ness  !   how  tired  I  did  get  hearing  about  that  place. 

But  for  Mr.  Selden  and  young  master,  I  believe 
master  would  have  gone  out  late  and  come  in  early 
every  day,  so  that  he  and  Mr.  Coleman  could  talk 
war  talk.  All  this  had  one  good  effect,  however. 
It  secured  for  both  men  and  dogs  the  best  that  old 
man  Coleman  had,  as  long  as  we  remained  with  him. 


ii8  Diomed 

The  houses  in  this  locahtv  were  built  in  Chicago 
and  taken  out  to  the  prairies,  ready  made  ;  for  there 
is  no  wood  fit  for  lumber  for  hundreds  of  miles  from 
the  place.  The  dwellings  are  built  one  story  high, 
because  the  prairie  winds  blow  so  fiercely  at  times, 
that  there  is  danger  of  their  overthrowing  taller 
structures.  Many  of  the  houses  are  painted  white 
with  green  trimmings,  and,  miles  away,  across  the 
prairie,  one  can  see  them,  looking  like  vessels  upon 
a  green  sea. 

What  interested  me  most  was  how  any  cooking 
was  to  be  done  ;  tor  1  was  now  ravenous.  No  wood 
was  visible  anywhere.  I  soon  found  out  about  this. 
A  grass  stack  near  the  house  takes  the  place  of  the 
eastern  wood-pile.  A  grass  mower  is  the  substitute 
for  our  logwood  axe.  The  housewife  has  a  machine 
which  holds  the  grass  together,  twists  and  doubles  it 
up  like  "  homespun  "  chewing  tobacco,  and,  in  this 
shape,  it  is  used  in  a  cooking-stove  of  peculiar  build 
and  makes  a  hot,  quick  fire.  These  things  were  all 
very  new  and  very  odd  to  me,  and  it  seemed  to  me 
that  something  novel  turned  up  every  minute  during 
my  stay. 

After  the  midday  meal  we  sallied  forth  for  prairie 
chickens,  accompanied  by  an  Irish  gentleman  called 
Colonel  O'Leary.  Poor  little  Ev^a  was  too  ill  to 
hunt,  after  her  long  journey,  so  we  left  her  snugly 
tucked  away  in  her  box.  Jack,  Dolon,  and  I  were 
keen  for  sport,  and  Colonel  O'Leary,  telling  master 
he  had  no  confidence  in  Eastern  dogs,  borrowed  a 
coarse  cross-bred,  liver-colored  brute,  named  "  Pat," 
from  one  of  the  villagers,  saving  we  might,  after  all, 
have  to  depend  upon  him.      We  were  all  disgusted 


Diomed  1 19 

with  Pat's  appearance,  hut  a  more  independent  feUow 
I  never  saw,  and  he  taught  us  a  great  many  useful 
things.  First  ot  all,  Pat,  seeing  us  lapping  the  sur- 
face water  at  a  slough,  good-naturedly  inquired  if 
we  are  accustomed  to  it.  "Water?  Yes,"  said 
we.  "  Ot  course.  Is  not  every  dog  accustomed  to 
water?"  "I  don't  mean  that,"  said  he;  "hut  all 
this  prairie  water  is  alkaline.  The  grasses  are  burned 
every  fall,  and  the  surface  water  is  saturated  with 
ashes.  It  will  salivate  you,  if  you  are  unaccustomed 
to  it."  Jack  and  I  had  remarked  how  distasteful 
and  bitter  the  water  was;  but  did  not  know  the 
cause.  After  that,  we  took  good  care  to  let  it  alone, 
and  were  content  to  return  to  the  wagon,  from  time 
to  time,  to  obtain  good  well  water  from  a  keg  and 
basin  taken  along  tor  the  purpose  ot  supplying  us. 
I  fared  better  than  Jack,  for  he  was  slightly  salivated. 

We  soon  reached  good  hunting-ground,  and  old 
Pat  swung  out  hunting  by  himselt.  Jack  and  I  had 
no  idea  how  to  hunt,  nor  where  to  seek  for  the 
prairie  chickens.  We  had  never  smelt  them,  and 
consequently  did  not  know  how  to  recognize  the 
scent. 

At  sundry  points,  on  what  are  called  "  tree  claims," 
rows  of  small  cottonwood  and  poplar  trees  are 
planted.  Thev  are  called  trees,  but  are  really  little 
more  than  bushes,  lliese  trees  are  generally  in  the 
vicinity  of  houses,  and  among  the  trees  are  the 
favorite  resorts  of  prairie  chickens.  Galloping  along 
together,  Jack  and  I  smelt  something  we  took  to  be 
domestic  fowls  which  had  ranged  out  from  a  house 
hard  by.  As  we  were  investigating,  and  before  we 
knew   better,    quite    a    number   ot    handsome    birds 


lao  DIomed 

sprang  up  about  us.  They  were  larger  than  any  I 
have  ever  stood  before.  Thev  rose  with  a  clucking 
sound,  and  an  awkward  flapping  motion,  like  that 
of  a  hen  flying  over  the  fence  ;  but  soon  steadied 
themselves  and  went  away  with  great  speed.  Sur- 
prised, and  thrown  back  on  our  haunches,  we  watched 
them  as  they  went.  They  would  sail,  as  if  about  to 
settle,  and  then  give  a  few  beats  of  the  wing  to  gain 
altitude.  Alternately  sailing  and  flapping,  until 
nearly  half  a  mile  away,  they  dropped  almost  simul- 
taneously into  a  deep  green  patch  of  prairie  grass. 
Oar  whole  performance  had  been  witnessed  by  our 
masters  from  the  wagon,  and  they  now  took  the 
direction  in  which  the  birds  had  gone.  We  realized 
by  this  time  that  these  were  the  birds  we  were  seek- 
ing, and  would  have  rushed  ahead,  but  for  the  com- 
mand ot  caution.  Old  Pat  changed  his  course  with 
that  ot  the  wagon  and  was  first  on  the  ground  where 
the  birds  had  settled.  The  shooters  alighted  from 
the  wagon,  a  hundred  yards  or  so  away.  Together 
we  all  advanced,  and  found  Pat  frozen  hard  upon 
the  birds.  Advancingr  cautiously,  all  the  does  caught 
the  scent,  and  there,  on  the  Minnesota  prairies,  in  the 
brilliant  sunlight  of  an  August  afternoon,  stood  our 
whole  party,  realizing  that,  at  last,  we  were  upon  the 
game  we  had  come  so  far  to  find.  Colonel  O'Leary, 
being  a  sort  of  host,  declined  to  shoot ;  and  it  was 
arranged  that  little  master,  now  fourteen  years  old, 
should  shoot  at  the  first  bird  to  rise.  A  prettier 
sight  I  never  witnessed  than  his  knockino;  over  that 
old  cock  bird  when,  with  cluck-cluck-cluck,  and 
bustling  wing,  he  started  from  the  Q;rass.  Prairie 
chickens  are  not  diflicult  shooting.      Thev  present  a 


Dionied  121 

large  target;  tlo  not  get  away  very  rapidly  at  the 
rise,  like  quail  and  snipes;  and  very  tew  shot  will 
bring  them  down.  Master  and  Mr.  Selden  had 
shot  together  so  long  that  they  seldom  interfered 
with  each  other  in  shooting;  and  when  we  put  up 
the  whole  covev  one  by  one,  or  two  or  three  at  a 
time,  all  made  kills.  Even  Colonel  O'Leary,  stand- 
inn;   aside,  found    opportunity  tor  a    shot,  atter   all 


AmonL'  the  Prairie  Chickens. 


requisite  courtesv  to  the  visitors  had  been  shown. 
When  I  retrieved  my  first  prairie  chicken,  I  telt  as 
if  I  had  captured  a  b'rahma  rooster.  He  was  a  large 
fit  bird,  and  gave  me  such  a  mouthtal  as  I  never 
had  before.  The  plumage,  while  rather  subdued, 
was  very  regular  and  beautiful ;  and,  whatever  other 
criticism  may  be  passed  upon  them,  a  dog,  with  a 
prairie  chicken  in  his  mouth,  feels  that  there  will 
certainly  be  a  full  bag.  I  found  that  there  was  much 
less  variety  in  prairie-chicken   hunting  than  in  quail 


I  "'  2 


Diomed 


or  snipe  hunting,  both  as  to  the  ground  hunted  and 
the  shots  presented.  An  account  of  the  different 
coveys  we  found,  and  the  shots  we  made,  would  be 
little  more  than  repetition  of  the  same  thing,  over 
and  over  again.  When  we  were  lifted  into  the 
wagon  after  sundown,  we  all  had  a  soft  warm  bed- 
ding of  prairie  chickens  ;  for  forty  birds  like  that 
make  a  great  showing. 

Little  Dolon  distinguished  himself  this  evening;. 
Towards  sundown,  running  along  the  edge  of  a  patch 
of  flax  stubble,  the  little  chap  threw  up  his  head  and 
galloped  straight  out  into  the  wheat,  gradually  slack- 
ening his  pace  until  he  came  to  a  handsome  point. 
Little  master  scrambled  out  of  the  wagon  and  fol- 
lowed him.  A  half-grown  bird  that  had  run  out 
there  by  himself,  rose  to  his  point,  and  little  master 
cut  him  down  like  a  veteran.  Dolon  retrieved  him. 
Our  driver  was  a  young  Norwegian  boy  named 
Hans.  He  was  a  sweet,  blue-eyed,  ruddy-cheeked 
little  fellow,  very  respectful,  and,  like  most  of  his 
race,  very  taciturn. 

Little  master  and  his  gun  had  made  a  most  pal- 
pable impression  upon  Hans.  As  little  master 
returned,  swinging  the  bird  proudly  in  one  hand 
and  holding  his  little  20-bore  Scott  gun  in  the  other, 
followed  by  Dolon,  Hans  could  no  longer  repress 
his  glee,  and  exclaimed  :  "  Ha  !  Leetle  boy,  leetle 
gun,  leetle  dog,  leetle  bird  !  doan'  he  preety  !  "  After 
a  bright  smile,  lighting  his  face  as  the  sun  was  light- 
ing the  prairies,  he  relapsed  into  his  accustomed 
quiet,  patient  look,  as  if  he  had  never  said  a  word. 

As  the  afterglow  was  fading  from  the  prairies,  in 
a  gloaming  such  as  is  painted  by  artists,  we  reached 


1) 


lonicc 


123 


Avoca.  Master  drove  by  the  door  ot  the  httle 
Convent  which  is  phmted  there,  and  left  a  string  of 
birds.  Others  he  gave  to  the  vilhigers.  When  we 
pulled  up  at  Coleman's  stable,  Jack  and  I  concluded 
that,  after  that  day's  excitement,  exercise,  and  sport, 
we  woidd  be  able  to  sleep  without  rocking. 


^^Zr^S^i^";-  J''(^. 


In  the  Gloaming. 


Chapter   VIII 

(1886) 
On   the  Western    Prairies 


-.^  -^^^  UR  sojourn  in  Minnesota,  althouQ;h  it 
was  all  too  short,  was  nevertheless  all 
that  doo;  or  man  could  have  desired,  while  it  lasted. 
Chickens  were  plentiful  that  season,  and  while  master 
was  not  a  sportsman  whose  only  object  was  to  kill 
all  the  game  he  could  slaughter,  we  counted  it  a 
poor  bag  if  the  day's  record  fell  below  forty  chickens. 
But  chickens  were  not,  bv  any  means,  the  only 
2;ame  we  found.  The  buffalo  and  the  antelope 
had  all  disappeared,  for  population  haci  become 
too  dense  for  them,  and  wire  fences  built  in  many 
places  had  destroyed  their  range.  One  day  we 
visited  a  place  near  Bear  Lake,  where,  years  be- 
fore, great  numbers  of  buffalo  had  been  slaughtered; 

1-4 


Dionied  125 

and  even  at  the  time  ot  our  \isit,  vast  quantities  of 
their  skulls  and  bones  lav  around  as  if  the  spot  had 
once  been  a  butcher's  vard. 

The  prairies  hereabouts  are  thickly  interspersed 
with  little  lakes,  ranging  in  size  from  a  horse-pond 
to  quite  considerable  bodies  of  water.  On  the 
largest  of  these,  called  Lake  Chetec,  vast  numbers 
of  ducks  and  geese  assemble,  and  near  Avoca  was 
another,  called  Lime  Lake,  where  we  had  fine  shoot- 
ing at  mallards,  teals,  and  red-head  ducks.  At  all 
times  of  dav,  about  the  borders  of  the  smaller  pools 
or  sloughs  —  pronounced  "slew"  by  the  natives  — 
we  found  Wilson  snipe,  and  yellow-shank,  and  bull- 
head, or  beetle,  plovers.  In  the  mornings  and  the 
evenings  we  had  fine  shooting  at  the  ducks.  When 
I  came  home  and  told  some  dog  friends  about  the 
variety  of  game  I  had  seen  in  one  day  in  Minnesota, 
you  know,  dear  reader,  what  they  thought  about  it. 
Yet,  I  will  venture  to  repeat  the  story  to  you  in  the 
hope  that,  if  you  have  followed  my  narrative  thus 
far,  you  will  consider  me  a  truthful  dog. 

Master  was  a  very  early  riser,  and  his  custom  was 
to  come  after  me  about  daybreak,  to  accompany  him 
to  a  spot  where  the  railway  embankment  crossed 
near  the  head  of  Lime  Lake,  about  half  a  mile  dis- 
tant from  the  hamlet  of  Avoca.  I  was  selected 
because  1  retrieved  well  trom  water.  At  daybreak 
the  ducks  came  down  to  the  lake  to  feed,  trom  their 
roosting-places  in  the  sloughs  above  the  railroad 
crossing.  In  their  passage  they  flew  so  low  as  to  pre- 
sent to  a  gunner  lying  behind  the  embankment  many 
beautiful  shots.  The  people  who  lived  in  Avoca 
paid  no  more  attention  to  these  ducks  than  it  they 


126  Diomed 

had  been  barnyard  fowl,  and  they  were,  consequently, 
not  nearly  so  wild  as  our  water-fowl  in  the  East. 

One  night  towards  the  end  of  our  visit,  it  turned 
quite  cold.  When  master  came  for  me  in  the  gray 
of  daybreak  and  we  started  for  the  shooting-place, 
we  were  both  pretty  well  tucked  with  cold.  Lying 
beside  the  embankment,  before  the  first  glow  ot 
sunrise,  we  both  shivered  from  head  to  toot,  and 
snuggled  up  very  close  to  each  other  to  keep  warm. 
The  shooting  that  morning  was  unusually  good. 
The  ducks  seemed  braced  up,  and  quickened  in 
their  flight,  by  the  cold.  By  good  fortune  they 
fell,  when  shot,  with  few  exceptions,  upon  the  rail- 
road or  the  shore  of  the  lake,  and  I  had  very  little 
retrieving  from  water.  When  the  flight  was  over, 
we  had  a  large  string  of  ducks,  under  the  load  of 
which  master  staggered  home  ;  and  upon  reaching 
the  sleeping-room,  he  threw  them  in  a  pile  upon 
Mr.  Selden,  who  had  not  yet  risen  from  his  bed. 

It  was  idle  to  hunt  on  the  prairies  in  the  morning 
dew,  and  for  that  reason  we  did  not  breakfast  until 
late.  Mr.  Selden  and  little  master  were  very  envi- 
ous of  our  good  luck  when  they  saw  the  results  of 
our  early  rising,  and  the  boy  never  missed  a  morn- 
ing at  the  crossing  after  that.  It  was  in  the  red- 
dening glow  preceding  sunrise,  on  the  morning  m 
question,  that  I  witnessed  the  beginning  ot  that 
great  procession  of  game,  accounts  of  which  have 
shaken  the  belief  of  some  of  my  friends  as  to  my 
veracity.  The  first  thing  that  attracted  our  atten- 
tion was  a  flock  of  large,  white  birds,  with  long  red 
bills,  and  black  markings  on  their  wings,  floating 
past   from    the   north  with  a  dreamy    flight,  like  a 


Diomed  127 

passing  cloud.  They  were  pelicans.  Not  game 
birds,  it  is  true,  hut  h^rerunners  of  others  who  were 
wending  their  way  southward  betore  the  advanc- 
ing northern  cold.  Hardly  had  they  faded  out 
of  sight  when  a  long,  straggling,  V-shapeci  line  of 
Canada  geese  came  past,  with  hurried  flight  and 
noisy  gabble.  Behind  them,  one  after  another, 
came  "flying  squadrons"  of  brant,  canvas-backs, 
red-heads,  widgeons,  pin-tails,  mallards,  teals,  and 
almost  every  variety  of  ducks,  lowering  in  their 
flight  when  they  had  passed  beyond  Avoca,  and 
ottentimes  settling  in  some  little  slough  before  they 
were  beyond  the  range  of  our  vision.  Now  and 
again,  in  stately  career,  came  groups  of  sand-hill 
cranes.  All  these  birds  were  headed  in  the  same 
direction,  going  south.  None  of  this  great  caravan 
came  near  enough  tor  us  to  shoot  at  them,  for  large 
bodies  of  migrating  ducks  or  geese  seldom  pass  near 
to  human  settlements.  Master  and  I  watched  their 
flight  and  marked  the  vicinity  in  which  they  seemed 
to  be  settling  for  rest,  I  knew  full  well  that  master 
would  hunt  for  prairie  chickens  that  day  in  the  direc- 
tion in  which  these  wild  fowl  had  settled.  He  did 
so  ;  and  during  the  course  of  that  day's  hunt,  our 
party  bagged,  upon  the  little  lakes,  or  about  their 
borders,  nearly  every  variety  of  the  ducks,  geese, 
and  brant  we  had  seen,  besides  picking  up  a  few 
snipes,  yellow-shank  plover,  and  even  a  specimen 
or  two  of  sora  rail.  When  to  these  were  added  our 
regular  quota  of  prairie  chickens,  three  or  four  Jack 
rabbits,  anci  several  large  sand-hill  cranes,  is  it  any 
wonder  that  I  cherish  tenderly  the  memory  of  the 
days  we  spent  in   Minnesota.^      I   could   not  forget 


128  Diomecl 

them  if  I  would,  for  this  scar  on  my  nose,  just  under 
mv  eve,  is  a  reminder  of  a  verv'  narrow  escape  I  had 
from  losing  mv  sight.  Master  and  I  had  made  a 
beautiful  "  blind  "  of  wheat  shocks,  from  which  we 
hoped  to  get  a  shot  at  some  geese  which  were  feed- 
ing a  mile  awav  upon  the  stubble.  Mr.  Selden  and 
little  master  made  a  long  circuit  around  them  in  the 
wagon,  hoping  they  would  be  able  to  drive  them 
past  the  place  where  we  were  concealed.  Thev 
did  not,  however,  succeed  in  this.  The  geese  had 
notions  of  their  own  about  where  thev  would  go, 
and  all  we  could  do  was  to  watch  them  disappoint- 
edlv,  as  they  passed  far  wide  oi  us,  rising  and  honk- 
ing, determined  apparently  to  be  well  awav  trom 
such  disagreeable  neighbors.  As  we  strained  after 
their  receding  forms  on  the  horizon,  a  shadow  flitted 
over  us,  and  wings  rustled  behind  and  above  us,  so 
near  that  it  seemed  as  it  thev  almost  touched  us 
in  passing  over.  We  were  well  concealed,  and 
a  moment  later,  a  gigantic  sand-hill  crane  dropped 
upon  the  plain  and  stood  bolt  upright,  like  a  sol- 
dier, not  thirtv  vards  distant  from  us,  watching  the 
wagon  which  was  now  returning.  Poor  old  fellow  ! 
It  seemed  a  mean  advantage  to  take  ot  him.  But 
he  was  an  unusuallv  fine  specimen,  and  a  moment 
later,  master's  gun  sent  a  full  charge  into  his  un- 
suspecting bodv.  Out  I  bounced,  full  ot  curiosity, 
for  he  was  a  new  bird  to  me  then.  Rushing  up  to 
retrieve  him,  I  saw,  too  late,  that  his  wicked,  yellow 
eves  were  wide  open ;  and  before  I  could  spring 
back,  he  made  a  lunge  at  me  with  his  long,  knite- 
like  beak,  and  came  near  extinguishing  one  of  my 
eyes.     Just  missing  the  eve,  he  gave  me  a  wound 


Sand-hill   Crane. 


130  Diomed 

across  the  nose  as  if  it  had  been  cut  with  a  razor. 
This  is  the  favorite  method  of  defence  resorted  to 
by  a  wounded  crane,  and  their  accuracy  in  striking 
the  eye  is  very  great.  Colonel  O'Learv,  who  came 
up  shortly  afterwards  with  the  wagon,  congratulated 
master  that  it  was  no  worse  ;  and  told  us  ot  a  boy 
in  the  vicinity,  who,  but  the  vear  before,  lost  an  eye 
by  running  up  to  a  wounded  crane  as  I  had  done. 

Cranes  are  considered  a  great  delicacy  at  this 
season.  This  one  was  very  fat,  and,  when  cooked, 
looked  like  a  turkey.  Mr,  Selden  declared  that  he 
considered  himself  disgraced  by  carving  a  "  Long 
Andrew,"  as  the  bird  is  called  in  the  East.  Not- 
withstanding this,  all  the  party  pronounced  him  a 
fine  bird.  We  dogs,  however,  did  not  fancy  his 
black  meat  or  his  oily  bones.  Another  day  master 
and  I  had  a  great  fright.  I  was  becoming  very 
much  attached  to  little  master.  He  was  a  cunning, 
quick,  little  fellow,  with  his  blue  eyes  and  golden 
hair ;  and  he  came  honestly  by  his  love  of  hunting. 
I  was,  to  his  mind,  everything  a  dog  should  be. 
After  almost  every  meal  he  came  out  with  some 
little  special  good  thing  for  me.  He  was  an  inde- 
pendent little  chap.  In  the  field  he  never  followed 
any  of  the  older  men,  but  planned  his  own  hunting, 
relied  upon  himself,  and  got  as  many  shots  as  the 
best  ol  them.  He  was  so  small  he  could  creep 
about  and  get  close  to  ducks,  and  wild  fowl,  that 
would  have  seen  and  escaped  from  the  grown  men. 
I  was  very  much  interested  in  him,  and  always  did 
what  I  could  to  give  him  the  shot. 

One  morning  master  came  for  me,  and  we  went 
off  to   our  accustomed  station  on  the  railroad  em- 


Diomcci  I']  I 

bankment.  From  where  we  lav  we  could  look 
down  the  lake  for  half  a  mile.  On  its  southern 
side  the  bushes  grew  quite  thickly,  down  to  the 
water's  edge.  Near  the  shore  at  this  point  a  flock 
of  blue-wing  teal  was  feeding.  We  had  no  idea 
little  master  had  come  out  alter  us,  until  we  saw 
a  pufF  of  smoke  rise  out  of  the  bushes  near  these 
teal,  and  heard  the  report  of  a  gun,  followed  by 
voung  master's  appearance  on  the  shore.  The 
ducks  at  which  he  had  fired  rose,  leaving  two  or 
three  of  their  number  shot.  Little  master  stood 
on  the  shore  a  tew  moments,  apparently  watching 
those  he  had  shot.  Then  we  saw  him  strip  himself 
and  begin  wading  out  into  the  lake.  The  water  was 
shallow  for  a  long  distance  from  shore.  On,  on,  he 
went,  wading  out  for  a  hundred  yards  or  more.  At 
last  we  saw  that  he  was  swimming;  and  then,  some- 
how, we  could  not  see  him  at  all.  The  wind  was 
fresh,  and  the  yellow  waters  were  so  rippled  by  the 
waves,  that,  at  that  distance,  we  could  not  distinguish 
his  little  white  face  and  blond  hair  in  the  water. 
Master  had  been  uneasy  trom  the  first  as  he  watched 
this  proceeding.  A  moment  later,  we  hurried  down 
the  embankment  to  the  lake  shore,  and  started  on 
the  run  for  the  point  wdiere  little  master  had  en- 
tered the  lake.  From  that  time,  being  on  the  level 
of  the  water,  we  could  not  hope  to  see  him  until 
we  were  quite  near  to  the  place  where  he  had  dis- 
appeared. Those  were  very  anxious  moments,  I 
assure  you,  while  we  were  running  that  half  mile. 
Master  was  very  wretched  looking,  and,  as  I  bounded 
forward,  he  panting  behind,  the  terrible  thought 
came  over  me,  "  What  will  we  do  if  little  master  is 


132 


Diomed 


drowned  ?  "  I  felt  like  dashing  right  into  the  lake 
after  little  master,  but  reflected  that  I  would  save 
time  by  running  on  land  to  the  point  where  he  had 
entered  the  water.  It  was  with  beating  hearts  that 
both  of  us  pressed  forward  through  the  bushes  on 
the  shore,  across  the  projecting  point  near  where  he 
had  fired.  On  emerging  from  these,  there  lay  his 
clothes  in  a  pile  with   his  gun  beside  them  ;  and  by 


^.^.^': 


"What  are   vou  doing   here,    papa?" 

this  time,  a  dead  teal,  one  of  those  he  had  shot,  had 
floated  quite  near  to  the  shore.  Just  as  we  hurried 
on  to  get  a  better  view,  to  our  infinite  relief,  we  saw 
the  little  rascal  rise  out  of  the  water,  a  long  way 
from  shore,  and  wade  towards  us.  I  was  so  rejoiced 
I  plunged  in  and  swam  towards  him.  "Halloa!" 
shouteci  he,  laughing,  as  he  gained  hailing  distance, 
apparently  unconscious  of  any  cause  tor  anxiety, 
"What  are  you   doing  here,  papa  ?  " 

"  Oh  !   my  dear  boy.     You  gave  me  such  a  fright," 


Diomed  133 

said  master,  sitting  down,  exhausted.  "  I  was  watch- 
ing you  from  the  crossing,  and  thought  you  dis- 
appeared in  the  water  and  were  drowned.  For 
Heaven's  sake,  what  are  you  doing?" 

"  I  wounded  a  duck  and  tried  to  catch  him,"  was 
the  reply,  "  I  followed  him  nearly  across  the  lake, 
hut  he  was  only  wing-broken,  and  could  swim  faster 
than  I  could  ;  so  I  had  to  give  up  the  chase." 

Master  was  too  much  relieved  to  be  severe,  but 
exacted  a  solemn  promise  that  he  would  not  repeat 
this  adventure,  explaining  that  a  further  reason  for 
being  alarmed  was  the  fact,  that  in  these  lakes  there 
is  what  is  known  as  the  electric  eel,  which  sometimes 
shocks  men  and  horses  severely.  One  of  these, 
touching  him  in  deep  water,  might  have  shocked 
him  so  as  to  stun,  and  cause  him  to  sink  and  drown. 
We  were  a  very  happy  trio  when  we  returned  for 
breakfast.  We  found  that  our  breakfast  was  cold 
and  the  wagon  was  in  waiting.  Breakfast  ov^er,  we 
were  off  once  more.  Our  friend.  Colonel  O'Leary, 
had  a  large  cocker  spaniel  named  Kaiser.  Kaiser 
was  a  very  industrious  citizen,  and  loved  hunting 
as  well  as  any  dog  I  ever  saw.  While  bustling 
about  the  sloughs  putting  up  young  mallards  he 
was  a  useful  fellow,  and,  at  retrievmg  ducks,  he  was 
a  master  hand.  But  Kaiser  had  no  idea  of  point- 
ing. Like  all  spaniels,  he  would  bark  when  he 
struck  scent,  and  rush  right  in  and  flush  the  game. 
We  had  so  much  sport  about  the  lakes  with  Kaiser 
that  he  was  allowed  to  accompany  us  once  or  twice, 
notwithstanding  he  spoiled  a  great  many  shots  at 
prairie  chickens,  by  flushing  them.  He  annoyed 
us  so  that  we  tried  tying  Kaiser  up  with  the  vyagon. 


134  Diomed 

But  that  dog  must  have  had  an  india-rubber  head  ; 
for  he  could  shp  it  out  of  any  collar  or  any  knot 
that  could  be -tied.  About  the  time  we  would  be 
getting  up  to  the  chickens,  out  would  pop  Kaiser 
with  bark  and  buck  jump,  from  Heaven  knows 
where,  and  away  would  go  the  birds.  Colonel 
O'Learv  had  a  brogue  that  would  have  made  the 
fortune  of  a  minstrel,  and  his  conversations  with 
Kaiser,  and  about  Kaiser,  kept  our  party  laughing 
continuously.  In  the  morning  Kaiser  would  be  the 
first  to  show  up  at  the  wagon,  keen  for  the  hunt ; 
and  then  would  begin  a  skirmish  for  his  capture. 
We  would  put  him  in  confinement,  and  the  last 
sound  heard  as  we  drove  away  would  be  Kaiser 
yelping  and  scratching  furiously.  Kaiser  at  last 
grew  too  cunning  for  us.  Instead  of  waiting  around 
the  wagon,  he  would  go  away  off"  on  the  prairie  and 
lie  down  in  the  high  grass,  until  we  drove  off;  then 
he  would  sneak  up  and  get  under  the  wagon,  never 
letting  himself  be  seen  until  we  were  too  far  away 
to  send  him  back.  How  well  I  remember  one  ot 
his  attempts  to  play  this  trick  which  failed  by  his 
being  betrayed  by  his  bushy  tail  sticking  out  from 
behind  the  wagon.  We  were  driving  off",  all  appre- 
hensive, and  on  the  lookout  for  Kaiser.  Some  one 
off"ered  to  bet  Kaiser  would  appear  in  a  few  minutes. 
"  No  ;  Oi  doan't  think  ye'll  be  troubled  wid  Kaiser 
to-day.  He's  out  visitin',  Oi  think,"  the  colonel 
was  saving,  reassuringly.  At  that  instant  little 
master  burst  out  laughing,  and  said,  "  Well,  he's 
under  this  wagon  nov/,  all  the  same."  I  can  see 
the  wagon  stop  and  the  fat  colonel  alight  heavily. 
I  can  see  Kaiser,  guilty  and  tuck-tail,  run  out  into 


Dionied  135 


Colonel  O'Leary  and  Kaiser. 

the  grass  when  detected,  and,  after  a  long  negotia- 
tion, captured  and  carried  off,  with  dangling  legs,  in 
Colonel  O'Leary's  arms,  the  colonel  answering  his 
sorrowful  look,  "  Yes,  Kaiser  dear,  1  know  it's  harrd, 
but  it's  bee  sue  ss^ 

By  this  time  the  heavy  work  on  the  prairies  was 
telling  upon  all  of  us.  Poor  little  Eva  had  never 
been  herself  since  she  left  home.  Dolon  had  gone 
all  to  pieces  in  his  feet.  There  is  a  species  of  grass 
upon  the  prairies,  which  lies  flat  on  the  ground, 
with  a  leaf  like  a  file.  This  grass,  and  the  burnt 
stubble,  wear  away  the  pads  ot  a  dog's  feet  with 
incredible  rapidity,  unless  they  have  been  toughened 
previously  or  hardened  by  the  alkaline  deposits. 

Within  a  week  after  1  reached  Avoca  I  had  spots 
as  large  as  dimes  worn  away  on  the  bottoms  ot  my 
feet,  raw  as  beefsteak,  and  very  tender.  I  did  not 
wish  to  stop  hunting,  but  the  pain  in  running  was 
intense.       Master    plastered    my    feet   with    French 


136 


Diomed 


corn-paper,  and  made  me  boots  out  ot  the  chamois- 
skin  he  had  fetched  along  to  clean  his  gun.  I  had 
seen  our  boys  tease  cats  by  putting  walnut  shells  on 
their  feet;  and  when  I  started  out  with  French  corn- 
paper  and  chamois-skin  boots,  I  felt  as  those  cats 
looked.  But  1  soon  became  accustomed  to  the 
boots,  and  they  \yere  a  great  relict. 

Thus  sped  the  happy  days  in  the  West. 

An  old  friend  of  master,  a  judge  from  Iowa,  came 
up  and  shot  with  us  several  days,  and,  shortly  before 
we  left,  a  gentleman  arrived  with  two  beautiful  young 
English  pointers  which  he  had  recently  imported. 
1  wanted  to  cultivate  the  acquaintance  of  these  young 
fellows,  for  they  seemed  very  gentlemanly  and  full 
of  work;  but  news  came  that  there  had  been  the 
shock  of  an  earthquake  in  Virginia,  and  Mr.  Selden, 
who  was  not  in  good  health,  grew  nervous  and  rest- 
less to  go  home  ;  so  w'e  all  determined  to  return. 
I  parted  with  Jack  at  Indianapiolis,  and  never  saw 
him  again.  I  never  realized  until  I  reached  home 
how  thoroughly  banged  up  J  was  ;  for  besides  hav- 
ing worn  my  feet  out,  I  had,  in  jumping  out  of  the 
y/agon,  strained  my  shoulder  so  severely  that  I  have 
never  quite  recovered  from  it. 


Rest. 


Chapter   IX 

( 1886) 


High-Toned   Shooting 


ETWEEN  the  date  of  our  return 
from  the  prairies  and  the  open- 
ing of  the  shooting  season  of  1886  I  had  ample 
time  for  rest  and  recuperation.  I  awaited,  with  im- 
patience, the  frost  and  the  tailing  leaf.  At  last  they 
came.  Our  first  hunt  was  some  miles  below  the 
city,  at  a  delightful  spot  known  as  Newstead.  It 
was  a  large  estate  lying  on  James  River,  formerly 
owned  by  some  old  grandee  ;  but  at  the  time  I  write 
about,  it  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  a  northern 
farmer,  who  kept  it  posted  against  every  one  but  his 
lawyer,  my  master.      This  was  but  a  single  day's  ex- 

137 


138  Diomed 

cursion,  however.  After  that  we  ran  up  for  a  day  to 
Goochland,  and  another  day  to  AmeHa  ;  and  from 
the  short  trips  made  by  master,  I  felt  sure  he  was 
only  tuning  me  up,  as  it  were,  for  some  grand  event. 
Nor  was  I  mistaken.  About  the  middle  of  Novem- 
ber a  distinguished  party  of  gentlemen  arrived.  One 
was  a  well-known  railroad  president,  another  an  Eng- 
lish gentleman,  and  the  third  my  old  friend  the  doc- 
tor, the  same  who  waded  in  and  extricated  me  from 
the  briars  when  I  was  near  drowning  at  the  snipe 
marsh.  Mr.  Selden  came  down  to  meet  them,  and 
we  had  a  fine  dinner  at  home,  preliminary  to  the 
start.  I  was  honored  by  a  call  to  the  library,  where 
the  guests  were  assembled,  and  did  not  fail  to  show 
the  doctor  that  I  recognized  him  and  well  remem- 
bered and  appreciated  the  great  service  he  had  done 
me  the  year  before.  Towards  night  we  took  car- 
riages and  repaired  to  the  depot ;  and  there  I  was 
introduced,  not  only  to  my  dog  shooting-compan- 
ions, but  to  a  luxurious  railway  shooting-outfit,  such 
as  I  had  never  seen  before.  Our  train  consisted  of 
an  engine  with  but  two  cars,  and  one  of  the  cars  was 
a  baggage-car  ;  but  in  my  travels  I  had  never  yet 
seen  anything  like  the  splendor  of  the  president's 
car.  It  was  divided  into  three  compartments.  The 
forward  part  was  a  kitchen  and  pantry,  the  middle 
part  a  dining-room  with  sleeping-arrangements  for 
guests.  The  rear  part  was  a  sitting-room,  furnished 
with  mahogany,  upholstered  in  peacock-blue  velvet, 
with  a  fireplace  for  burning  wood.  Adjoining  this 
was  the  president's  room  and  bath-room.  Several 
servants  were  in  attendance,  ready  at  a  moment's 
notice   to   furnish   the   gentlemen   anything   to   eat. 


Diomed  139 

drink,  or  smoke  that  appetite  or  fancy  could  desire. 
in  the  well-stored  larder  were  black-tail  deer  from 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  fresh  oysters,  woodcock,  and 
an  infinite  variety  of  luxuries.  I  am  sure  that  a 
long  residence  on  that  car  would  have  given  me  the 
gout;  for,  while  in  our  humbler  car  we  had  ojily  a 
box  of  dog-biscuits,  the  servants,  with  whom  1 
quickly  made  triends,  supplied  me  with  the  scraps 
from  the  meals,  and  I  was  not  surprised  at  pulling 
out  anything  from  the  pan,  from  tenderloin  steak  to 
German  goose  liver.  Such  were  the  men  and  prov- 
ender on  board. 

Now  as  to  the  dogs.  Little  Eva  was  my  com- 
panion from  home.  The  president,  after  a  few  mo- 
ments in  his  car,  insisted  on  showing  master  his 
dogs,  and  we  went  forward.  It  was  a  very  comfort- 
able place,  furnished  with  an  ample  supplv  of  empty 
United  States  mail-bags  for  the  doo;s  to  lie  upon. 
"A  most  convenient  spot  after  a  hard  day's  hunt," 
thought  I,  glancing  at  the  ample  space  and  abundant 
bedding.  The  servants  led  out  the  president's  dogs, 
one  by  one,  and  they  were  greatly  admired.  First 
was  ^^im,  a  really  handsome  fellow,  and,  as  I  soon 
learned,  a  dog  ot  education,  experience,  and  sense. 
He  was  large,  tan-colored,  with  white  markings, 
plainly  a  cross  between  English  and  Irish.  And 
just  here  let  me  remark  that  this  is  a  most  excellent 
cross.  In  my  long  intercourse  with  dogs,  I  think  I 
have  seen  as  many  good  hunting-dogs  of  this  cross 
in  blood  as  of  any  other  ;  and  Vim  was  no  exception 
to  the  rule.  Then  came  a  verv  handsome  and  blood- 
like young  pointer  named  Tom,  to  whom  I  at'once 
paid  my  respects,  because  he  was  half-brother  of  my 


140  Diomed 

dear  little  friend  Young  Beulah  ;  and  lastly  came 
a  huge,  heavv-looking  setter  named  Dash,  liver 
and  white,  almost  as  large  as  a  yearling  calt.  The 
president  grew  enthusiastic  about  Dash,  informing 
master  that  the  English  gentleman  had  secured  him 
in  England  at  a  very  high  price,  and  brought  him 
over  with  him.  Dash  undoubtedly  showed  high 
breeding  ;  and  our  friend  the  Englishman  declared 
he  had  seen  him  work  "  in  the  turnips,"  and  that  he 
was  a  very  fine  dog.  What ''  in  the  turnips  "  meant, 
I  did  not  know.  Our  car  had  been  used,  it  seems, 
as  an  express  or  mail-car  as  well  as  a  baggage-car, 
and  had  one  small  latticed  compartment.  Dash, 
being  the  guest  of  honor,  was  assigned  to  this,  just 
as  his  master  had  his  individual  room  among  the 
men. 

The  president,  hearing  of  some  fine  hams  in  Rich- 
mond, secured  several ;  and  the  servants,  for  lack 
of  better  place,  hung  them  in  Dash's  compartment. 

Now  I  do  not  know  whether  or  not  it  is  a  pecul- 
iarity of  Englishmen  and  English  dogs,  but  both  the 
Englishmen  and  English  dogs  that  I  have  hunted 
with  have  seemed  to  me  to  have  appetites  that  are 
never  satisfied.  They  have  breakfast,  and  tiffin,  and 
luncheon,  and  dinner,  and  supper,  and  then  a  bite 
before  bedtime.  It  is  marvellous  where  they  stow 
it  all  away.  I'm  sure  I  envy  them  their  great 
digestion. 

Dash  was  not  different  from  his  countrymen.  It 
was  not  long  after  our  masters  had  withdrawn,  leav- 
ing us  to  get  a  good  night's  rest,  before  Dash,  who 
had  been  curled  away  in  the  corner,  raised  up  his 
large  body,  stretched  out  his  hind  legs,  shook  him- 


l^iomcei 


141 


self,  gave  a  great  yawn,  and,  addressing  himselt  to 
the  others  of  us,  said,  "  I  say,  my  dear  boys,  d'ye 
know  I'm  beastly  hungry  ?  "  \'im,  who  wa'i  nearest 
to  him,  suggested  a  dog-biscuit.  "  Oh  !  dcm  dog- 
biscuit,"  said  Dash,  with  his  unmistakable  British 
accent.  "  I  cawn't  wear  me  teeth  out  on  such  stuff 
as  that,  ye  know."  Just  then,  catching  sight  of  the 
ham,   he    exclaimed,  "  Ah  !    here   I   have   it.      That 


us- MAIL  :^^^,^^-^ 


Dash   Reachini;   for   Ham. 


looks  like  a  good  old  Devonshire  ham.  I'll  take  a 
bit  of  it  if  I  die  for  it."  With  that  he  began  trymg 
to  reach  it  by  springing  at  it.  After  several  failures, 
he  leaped  upon  a  chest,  sprung  from  it,  and  caught 
fast  to  the  ham  by  his  teeth.  The  string  by  which 
it  hung  could  bear  no  such  weight  as  that,  and  in 
another  moment  Dash  and  the  ham  came  down 
together,  with  a  crash  sufficient  to  wake  the  seven 
sleepers.  Paying  little  attention  to  the  rough  tum- 
ble he  had.  Dash  proceeded  to  appropriate  about 
seven   pounds    of  salt    ham,   declaring    he    had    not 


142  Diomed 

enjoyed  anything  so  much  since  he  left  "  Old  Eng- 
land." It  was  about  midnight.  We  were  just 
pulling  out  of  the  station,  so  as  to  be  on  the  shoot- 
ing-grounds earlv,  and  the  servants  were  not  awak- 
ened by  the  noise.  Before  davliG;ht  Dash  had  drunk 
all  the  water  in  his  pan,  and  was  declaring  in  unmis- 
takable English  that  it  somebodv  did  not  soon  come 
to  his  relief,  he  would  die  of  thirst.  It  was  amusing 
to  see  him  trying  to  put  his  immense  nose  through 
the  slats  to  reach  our  water-pans.  Altogether,  he 
and  his  thirst  gave  the  others  of  us  little  rest. 

Morning  came,  and  we  were  soon  out  and  about. 
We  were  on  a  side  track  near  Mr.  Selden's.  He 
came  down  with  horses,  servants,  and  his  own  doo;s. 
We  divided  into  two  parties,  Mr.  Selden  taking  the 
Englishman  and  the  doctor  with  his  dogs,  and 
master  taking  the  president.  Vim,  Dash,  and  my- 
self. 

The  shooting  was  good  near  at  hand ;  so,  the 
other  party  going  across  the  river  to  Cumberland, 
ours  entered  at  once  on  the  river  low  grounds,  hard 
by.  Vim  and  I  were  all  fit  and  trim  tor  work  ;  but, 
no  sooner  was  Dash  released,  than  he  made  tor  a 
neighboring  streamlet  and  began  lapping;,  lapping;, 
lapping.  The  president,  observing  how  much  he 
drank,  and  being  still  in  hailing;  distance  ot  the  car, 
called  to  the  servant  in  charg;e  ot  the  dogs  and  en- 
quired  why  he  had  not  watered  them  overnight. 
"  I  is  watered  'em,  sir,"  was  the  reply.  "  Well ;  this 
dog  is  very  thirsty,"  said  his  master,  doubtingly. 
"Yes,  sir,  I  reckin  he  is.  Ef  you'd  eat  a  whole  salt 
ham,  you'd  be  thirsty,  too,"  said  the  boy,  grinning ; 
and  the  story  of  the  ham  was  out.      Vim  and  I,  ini- 


Diomed  143 

patient  as  we  were  to  be  off,  nevertheless  enjoyed 
the  unpromising  start  our  EngHsh  rival  was  making. 
At  last,  having  finished  his  drinking.  Dash  came 
lumbering  up.  Looking  over  the  beautiful  brown 
stubble  which  gave  every  promise  of  birds  to  us 
Americans,  he  said,  "  I  say,  old  chappies,  where 
are  the  turnip  fields?"  "The  what?"  said  I. 
"  The  turnip  fields  where  the  birds  are,"  said  he. 
"  See  here,  Dash,"  said  I,  "  you  cannot  expect  ham 
and  turnips  both.  What  do  you  want,  the  earth  ?  " 
"  Well  now,  ye  know,"  protested  he  as  we  galloped 
along,  "  one  cawn't  be  expected  to  scour  a  beastly 
wilderness  like  this  for  birds.  How  shall  we  ever 
think  where  to  look  for  them,  seeing  there  are  no 
turnip  fields  ?  "  "  Follow  us,"  said  Vim.  "  We'll 
teach  you  where  to  look  for  them,  and  where  to  find 
them  too,  even  if  there  are  no  turnip  patches,"  and 
with  that  we  quickened  our  pace  across  the  wide- 
spread levels,  racing  for  the  stubble  near  the  willows 
by  the  river,  where  I  knew  there  was  a  fine  covey. 
But  the  pace  was  too  hot  for  Dash.  Another  ditch 
furnished  the  excuse  for  another  long  drink  ;  and 
while  Dash  was  astonishing  his  master  with  his  capa- 
city as  a  reservoir.  Vim  and  I  left  him  far  behind, 
and  were  soon  stiffened  side  by  side  upon  a  feeding 
covey,  proud  of  our  English  and  Irish  ancestry,  but 
nevertheless  holding  our  American  flags  triumphant 
to  the  fore,  and  awaiting  the  coming  up  of  the 
Englishman.  Dash  arrived  in  time,  and  took  his 
position  back-standing  us.  Then  came  our  masters, 
who  dismounted,  passed  their  reins  to  the  little 
darky  attendant  and  put  up  the  birds.  Out  of 
courtesy  Dash  was  offered  the  privilege  of  retriev- 


144  Diomed 

ing;  but  disdainfully  replied  that  in  England  no 
self-respecting  setter  did  that,  and  that  it  was  left  to 
a  retriever  taken  along  for  the  purpose.  So  Vim 
and  I  retrieved.  Dash  examined  one  ot  our  dear 
little  Bob  Whites  rather  superciliously,  and  said, 
"  What  a  wee-bit  of  a  chap  he  is.  Why,  he's  not 
near  so  large  as  our  English  partridge."  "  No,"  said 
I,  mumbling  over  my  bird  as  I  trotted  by  him  ; 
"  you  see  dogs  and  birds  grow  larger  when  they  are 
fed  on  ham  and  turnips."  Vim  was  so  tickled  at 
this  sally  that  he  dropped  his  bird  to  laugh.  The 
birds  had  flown  up  stream  and  settled  in  a  little  false 
bank  between  the  stubble  and  the  fringe  of  willows 
on  the  river's  edge.  When  we  came  up  with  them, 
we  pointed  them  singly,  and  they  rose,  one  at  a  time  ; 
darted  through  the  willows,  and  endeavored  to  fly 
behind  us.  Thus,  when  a  kill  was  made,  we  flushed 
no  other  bird  in  retrieving.  But  owing  to  the  way 
they  flew,  the  birds  fell  into  the  river.  Here,  I  felt, 
was  my  opportunity.  Vim  was  not  fond  of  retriev- 
ing from  water,  and,  as  for  Dash,  no  sooner  did  he 
see  it  than  he  ran  down  to  the  brink  to  drink,  with- 
out any  other  thought  in  his  head.  As  bird  alter 
bird  splashed  into  the  tawny  stream  and  was  swept 
downward  swiftly  by  the  current,  I  watched  ;  then 
ran  along  the  shore  until  sufficiently  below  the  bird 
to  swim  out  as  it  came  down,  and  I  would  then  turn 
up  stream  and  tread  water  until  the  current  swept 
the  game  into  my  mouth.  Swimming  back  with  it 
to  the  shore,  I  would  deliver  it,  and  at  once  move  up 
the  river  bank  and  point  another  bird.  Eight  times  I 
did  this  thing,  while  Vim  stood  on  the  shore  watch- 
ing me,  and  Dash  drank  on.     It  was  all  the  reward  I 


Dionied  145 

wanted,  when  I  heard  the  president  exchiim,  "  That's 
the  prettiest  work  I  ever  saw.  I'll  give  you  five  hun- 
dred dollars  for  Di."  Master,  gathering  his  reins  and 
adjusting  his  foot  in  the  stirrup  to  mount,  as  we 
prepared  to  ride  onward  in  search  of  another  covey, 
turned  lovingly  to  me,  his  eyes  sparkling  with  pride, 
and  said,  "  Di,  we  can't  part  company.  Can  we,  old 
boy?  No.  Not  for  moneyy  I  shook  the  water 
from  my  dripping  coat,  leaped  with  a  jovous  bark  at 
old  Zephyr's  nose,  and  sped  awav,  hunting  tor  other 
birds.  By  this  time  it  was  manifest  that  Dash  was 
thoroughly  "  pumped  out,"  to  use  his  own  expres- 
sion ;  but  I  thought  that  if  he  could  have  been 
literally  pumped  out,  it  would  have  been  the  best 
thing  that  could  happen  to  him.  The  poor  old 
fellow  had  drunk  water  until  his  sides  were  distended 
as  if  he  had  been  drowned.  As  he  galloped  along 
laboriously,  the  swash  of  the  water  within  him  could 
be  heard  as  if  a  halt-filled  water-barrel  were  being 
trundled  past  us.  With  pity,  his  master  saw  his 
plight,  and  asked  nervously,  "  Will  it  kill  him  ?  " 
"  Oh,  no,"  said  master,  laughing  heartily.  "  But 
we  had  best  leave  him  at  the  car.  We  might  foun- 
der him.  To-morrow  he  will  be  all  right."  So  back 
we  went,  and  Dash  was  left  in  charge  of  the  servants, 
with  strict  injunctions  to  see  that  he  fasted.  To 
take  his  place  we  released  little  Eva,  and  a  right 
good  day  of  it  we  had.  Returning  that  evening 
with  well-filled  bag,  we  met  a  darky  with  a  fine 
young  wild-turkey  gobbler  which  he  had  shot  in  the 
blutfs  not  a  mile  from  our  car.  The  president 
bought  the  turkey  tor  a  dollar,  and  for  a  long  time 
that  evening,  atter  the  other  party  returned,  he  in- 


146  Diomed 

sisted  that  he  had  shot  the  bird  himselt.  But  the 
gentlemen  were  so  generous  hi  their  congratulations 
that  he  was  forced,  in  honesty,  to  confess  the  facts. 
All  were  agreed,  however,  that  whoever  shot  it,  a 
wild  turkey  for  dinner  day  atter  to-morrow,  would 
be  a  handsome  addition  to  the  menu,  as  a  party  of 
ladies  were  to  come  up  from  Richmond  with  mis- 
tress, to  dine  with  us  and  accompany  us  on  our 
return   trip   to  the  city. 

It  was  fortunate  that  Mr.  Selden  sent  down  a 
tame  turkey  next  morning;  for,  notwithstanding  this 
wild  turkey  was  hung  higher  than  the  hams  the 
nig;ht  before.  Dash  that  night  repeated  upon  this 
wild  turkey  his  previous  performance  on  the  ham  ; 
and  when  our  car  was  opened  next  morning,  it 
looked  as  if  somebody  had  cut  open  a  feather  bed. 
Dash,  although  not  so  thirsty,  was  not  a  whit  less 
full  than  on  the  preceding  morning.  The  presi- 
dent, who  was  an  amiable  man,  could  not  resist  the 
ludicrousness  of  Dash's  ignominious  career,  and 
thenceforth  our  party  guyed  the  English  gentleman 
mercilessly  about  his  highly  bred,  highly  broke,  high 
priced,  and  high  jumping  dog. 

The  second  day,  the  hunting-parties  changed 
leadership.  The  Englishman  and  the  doctor  went 
with  master  and  his  dogs,  Mr,  Selden  taking  the 
president.  We  had  another  glorious  day.  The 
Englishman  was  a  tall,  raw-boned,  muscular  man  ; 
the  doctor  was  very  short,  but  active  and  wiry. 
Both  were  good  shots.  The  Englishman  was  hav- 
ing his  first  experience  in  American  shooting,  and 
was  much  delighted  with  the  sport.  From  time  to 
time  I   heard  him  frankly  admit  that  although  he 


Diomed  T47 

had  shot  in  England,  Scotland,  France,  Italy,  and 
India,  he  had  "  never  seen  as  game  a  little  beggar" 
as  our  American  Bob  White,  or  one  presenting  such 
or  so  great  a  variety  of  shots.  At  the  same  time  he 
was  disposed  to  decry  bird-hunting  on  horseback  as 
nothing  like  so  good  a  test  of  endurance  as  hunting 
afoot,  and  freely  criticised  the  practice  of  allowing 
the  dog  that  stood  the  birds  to  retrieve  them.  He 
explained  how,  in  England,  a  gentleman  is  attended 
bv  a  game-keeper  and  retriever ;  and  how,  when  the 
bird  is  killed,  the  pointing-dog  stands  still,  the  game- 
keeper hands  his  master  a  loaded  gun,  and  takes  his 
empty  gun  to  reload  it ;  and  how  the  retriever,  who 
is  never  allowed  to  hunt  for  live  game,  or  to  point, 
goes  in  and  retrieves.  All  these  things  were  told  at 
the  noon-day  rest,  and  as  I  heard  them  I  thought 
to  myself,  "  What  high-toned  style  !  How  glad  I 
am  I  am  not  an  English  dog  !  Half  the  sport  is  in 
fetching  the  dead  birds  !  "  I  began  to  think  that, 
after  all,  we,  with  our  free  and  easy  American  meth- 
ods of  hunting,  were  not  impressing  our  English 
triend  as  much  as  I  had  expected  we  would. 

The  little  doctor  was  an  American  to  the  back- 
bone, and  contested  all  the  Englishman  said.  He 
stoutly  maintained  that  Americans  were  better 
sportsmen,  could  endure  more,  were  better  shots, 
and  had  better  dogs  than  Englishmen.  This  sort  of 
discussion  went  on  all  day,  and,  just  as  I  expected, 
resulted  in  a  wager,  made  that  night,  to  be  decided 
on  the  morrow. 

The  Englishman  and  the  doctor  were  to  hunt 
afoot ;  master  was  to  go  on  horseback  and  reteree 
the  contest,  working  two  dogs ;  and  he  was  to  decide 


1^.8  Diomed 

which  of  the  contestants  showed  the  most  endur- 
ance, and  which  was  the  best  shot.  Eva  and  I  were 
selected  as  the  dogs,  and  the  contest  came  off  as 
agreed  upon.  As  our  hunt  was  to  end  that  evening, 
our  train  was  ordered  to  move  down  the  railroad  to 
a  point  five  miles  below  the  spot  where  we  had  been 
for  three  days.  It  was  arranged  that  we  were  to  hunt 
the  highlands,  the  other  party  the  low  grounds,  and 
all  were  to  reach  the  train  at  sundown. 

I  think  that  hunt  was  one  of  the  most  amusing  I 
have  ever  had.  Eva  and  I  were  both  very  fit  and 
fast,  and  master,  being  on  horseback,  set  a  murder- 
ous pace  for  the  footmen.  The  section  we  traversed 
was  very  hilly,  and  the  distance  to  be  covered  was 
something  over  twelve  miles,  counting  the  way  we 
were  to  go.  Between  the  cultivated  highlands  over- 
looking the  river,  and  the  grain-fields  in  what  is 
known  as  the  back-country,  there  is  a  heavy  body 
of  woods,  quickly  enough  passed  on  horseback,  but 
verv  tiresome  to  pedestrians.  Our  morning  was 
passed  in  the  river  highland  fields,  and  the  shooting 
was  good.  Both  contestants  stood  gamely  to  their 
work,  and  in  speed,  endurance,  and  shooting,  there 
was  little  to  choose  between  them.  Master's  saddle- 
bags received  the  game.  The  Englishman's  birds 
were  put  in  the  right  pocket ;  the  doctor's  in  the 
left.  In  the  right  pocket  was  the  Englishman's 
flask  of  old  Glenlevit;  in  the  left,  the  doctor's  Penn- 
sylvania Rye.  Unfortunately  for  both,  while  the 
one  scorned  Scotch  whiskey,  the  other  refused  to 
recognize  the  American  article.  Whenever  one 
declared  that  some  brilliant  shot  of  his  entitled  him 
to  take  a  nip,  the  other  did  not  hesitate  to  join  him 


Dionied  149 

in  his  toast,  provided  he  could  do  so  out  oi  his  own 
bottle.  The  consequences  may  be  guessed.  By 
eleven  o'clock  the  tall  Englishman  had  a  stride  upon 
him  as  if  he  wore  seven-league  boots.  The  short 
little  doctor  was  pacing  desperately  by  his  side. 
The  jibes  and  bantering  of  the  pair  echoed  far  and 
near  across  the  hills.  It  had  become  a  walking- 
match,  a  talking-match,  a  drinking-match,  but  very 
little  of  a  shooting-match. 

Master,  greatlv  amused,  in  spite  of  his  disgust  at 
such  trifling,  finally  announced  that  being  midday  it 
was  time  to  go  through  the  v/oods,  to  the  back- 
country  fields,  and  our  party  started  in  that  direction. 
These  woods  had  been  much  cut  up  bv  saw-mills 
and  were  filled  with  many  wagon  tracks.  Having 
ample  time  before  the  birds  moved  out  into  the 
fields  for  their  afternoon  feed,  master  determined  to 
give  the  walking-match  a  full  test ;  and  so,  leading 
the  pedestrians  from  one  road  to  another,  he  walked 
them  back,  forth,  and  around,  in  this  piece  of  woods, 
until,  after  manv  inquiries  as  to  how  far  we  had  yet 
to  go,  both  declared  that  the  party  was  lost ;  and 
coming  upon  a  deserted  saw-mill  with  an  immense 
pile  of  sawdust,  in  a  sunny  spot.  Englishman  and 
doctor  threw  themselves  upon  it  simultaneouslv, 
and  refused  to  budge  another  step.  In  two  minutes, 
lying  there  in  the  warm  sun  and  sheltered  from  the 
winds,  the  pair  were  fast  asleep.  Often  have  1 
regretted  that  master  obtained  no  picture  of  these 
their  country's  champions  as  they  appeared  there. 
On  they  snoozed,  master,  in  the  meanwhile,  riding 
out  a  few  hundred  yards  to  the  edge  of  the  woods, 
to  obtain  his  bearings  for  the  evening  work. 


I50 


Diomed 


#£■..  .  ^■' 


;).^=***.fc 


Sleeping  Giants. 

He  took  the  Englishman's  gun  with  him.  Eva 
and  I  followed  him.  These  open  sunnv  spots  in 
the  woods  are  favorite  middav  loafing-places  for  the 
birds,  and  it  was  no  surprise  to  us  that  on  our  return 
trip  to  the  saw-mill  we  found  a  fine  covey.  Master 
dismounted,  and  at  the  rise,  killed  two  birds.  The 
reports  ol  the  gun  awoke  the  sleeping  giants  just  in 
time  for  them  to  see  the  birds  passing  over  them. 
The  little  doctor  was  verv  nimble,  sprung  to  his  feet, 
seized  his  gun,  and  made  a  beautiful  shot.  The 
Englishman  likewise  arose  and  would  also  have  had 
a  shot  it  his  gun  had  been  at  hand.  But  of  course 
it  was  not.  And  here  arose  another  ground  of  strife 
between  the  two,  for  it  did  so  happen  that  at  the  end 
of  the  struggle  the  doctor  had  one  more  bird  than 
the  Englishman,  who  contended  that  it  was  secured 
when  he  was  at  a  disadvantage.  The  controversy 
was  too  delightful  as  it  stood,  to  have  it  ended  by  a 
decision,  and  master  held  his  in  reserve. 


Diomed  151 

Aroused  to  new  lite  and  vigor  by  this  incident,  we 
were  soon  once  more  in  the  stubble,  pursuing  our 
sport  in  a  much  more  orderly  fashion.  Gradually 
moving  towards  the  appointed  place  of  meeting,  we 
had  a  goodly  bag  when  the  evening  shadows  fell 
aslant.  It  was  amusing  to  watch  these  two  men 
trying  to  conceal  from  and  denying  to  each  other 
that  their  energies  were  weakening.  The  English- 
man was  in  Scotch  yarn  stockings  with  high  shooting- 
shoes.  Any  one  could  see  that  his  feet  were  tortur- 
ing him,  but  he  said  not  a  word  about  them.  At 
last  he  declared  he  haci  a  gravel  in  his  shoe,  and 
sitting  down  by  a  brook,  caretully  unlaced  his  boot, 
removed  his  stocking,  and  plunged  his  heel,  with  a 
great  blister  upon  it,  into  the  cooling  waters.  The 
poor  little  doctor,  chated  to  rawness  by  his  long  hot 
tramp,  made  some  other  pretext  for  relieving  his 
sufferings.  It  was  evident  both  had  taken  all  the 
exercise  they  wanted  for  that  day.  At  last,  when 
within  half  a  mile  of  our  destination,  an  old  darky, 
with  a  yoke  of  stunted  oxen  attached  to  a  primitive 
cart,  overtook  us,  going  in  our  direction.  "  The 
hunt  is  over,"  exclaimed  both  contestants  at  once. 
"  Mr.  Referee,  you  must  decide  it  as  it  stands.  Old 
man,  what  will  you  charge  us  for  a  ride  ?  "  The 
terms  were  quickly  arranged.  The  two  sat  on  the 
rear  end  of  the  cart,  facing  backward,  the  feet  of  the 
tall  one  almost  touching  the  red  soil  of  the  road. 
The  flasks  were  called  for  vehemently ;  and  as  our 
slow-moving  procession  wound  down  the  hill  to 
where  the  engine  stood  smoking,  ready  to  start,  the 
antagonists  drank  each  other's  health,  and  declared 
all  bets  off. 


152 


Diomed 


As  we  neared  the  railroad,  our  little  oxen  walk- 
ing leisurely  along,  notwithstanding  constant  prod- 
ding from  their  sable  driver;  the  backs  of  the  seated 
shooters  swaying  from  side  to  side  with  the  motion 


Fagged   Out. 

of  the  cart;  master  quietlv  brino;ing  up  the  rear; 
and  Eva  and  myself,  thoroughly  fagged,  trotting 
quietly  by  the  roadside  ;  the  other  party,  which  had 
returned  before  us,  and  had  now  been  joined  by 
mistress  and  her  friends,  greeted  us  with  derisive 
cheers,  and  declared  that  our  appearance  was  in 
strange  contrast  with  our  exultant  sally  forth  in  the 
morning. 

A  boy  sprung  from  the  caboose  for  master's  horse  ; 
master  tumbled  Eva  and  myself  aboard;  the  gentle- 
men proceeded  to  make  their  dinner  toilets;  the 
engine  gave  a  snort  and  a  start ;  Eva  and  I  curled 
ourselves  up  snugly  in  our  corners  ;  the  president 
and  his  party  clinked  their  glasses  and  ate  tame 
turkey  for  lack  of  wild  turkev  ;    Dash  declared  that 


Diomed 


^53 


American  shooting  was  a  bore;  and,  two  hours  hiter, 
after  hearty  adieus  trom  the  president  and  his  party, 
his  car,  attached  to  the  express  at  Richmond,  was 
rushing  northward,  while  master,  mistress,  Eva,  and 
I  were  rumbHng  over  the  Richmond  streets  in  our 
carriage  towards  our  home.  We  had  a  glorious 
hunt,  —  a  hunt  to  my  heart's  content,  —  a  real  aris- 
tocratic hunt,  we  may  say,  with  railroad  presidents 
and  Englishmen  and  metropolitan  physicians  and 
all  that ;  but  home  looked  very  bright  and  sweet, 
and  the  children  gave  us  such  a  welcome,  that  I  fell 
into  a  deep,  refreshing  sleep  that  night,  declaring  to 
myself  that  our  home  was  the  best  place  in  the  world, 
atter  all,  and  that  our  new  cook,  Violet,  although 
black  as  a  crow,  was  queen  of  the   kitchen. 


Little  Eva. 


Chapter  X 

(1887) 

A   Fight  —  An   Escapade  —  A    Portrait  and    Great 
Expectations 


.^..r-ji,^-.-   <3%^ 


^^^*rt^^^^^ 


HE,  hearts  of  aristocratic  dogdom  in  our 
town  were  all  a-flutter  in  the  autumn  ot 
1887.  News  had  gone  abroad  that  Tracy,  the  cele- 
brated dog-painter,  was  to  visit  master.  Few  edu- 
cated canines  are  unfamiliar  with  his  works;  for  the 
dog  was  his  favorite  subject,  and  in  every  section  ot 
our  countrv,  in  art  gallery,  library,  hall,  and  even  in 
bar-room,  Tracy's  matchless  pictures  of  dogs  and 
hunting-scenes  may  be  seen.  In  my  travels  hither 
and  thither,  I  have  come  upon  them  in  all  sorts  ot 
places,  from  the  handsome  original  in  oil,  to  the 
cheapest  clippings  from  the  sporting  journals,  pasted 
upon  kennels  or  in  stables  ;  some  representing  faith- 

154 


Diomed  155 

fuUv  the  celebrated  winners  in  the  field  or  on  the 
bench,  or  the  master's  favorite ;  others  portraying 
delightlul  hunting-scenes  with  impersonal  features 
touching,  bv  resemblance  to  their  own  experiences, 
the  almost  universal  passion  of  dog  and  man  for  field 
sports.  Tracv  is  easily  first  in  this  class  of  paintings 
among  American  artists.  To  our  time  and  country 
he  has  been,  in  a  limited  sphere,  what,  in  a  broader 
field,  Landseer  in  his  day  was  to  England. 

My  hvpercritical  reader,  I  can  almost  hear  you 
exclaim,  "  What  absurd  language  to  attribute  to  a 
dog !  What  can  a  dog  know  about  '  handsome 
originals  in  oil,'  or  '  universal  passions,'  or  Tracy's 
standing  in  American  art,  or  Landseer's  in  Eng- 
land?" 

Go  on  with  that  kind  of  disagreeable  criticism,  if 
you  like.  Sav  that  1  am  a  dog  and  never  thought 
or  wrote  these  things.  Accuse  master  of  imposing 
upon  you  by  attributing  his  thoughts,  his  language, 
and  his  writings  to  me,  if  you  choose.  Neverthe- 
less I  know,  and  he  knows,  that  I  have  seen  Tracy's 
originals  in  oil ;  that  I  have  greatly  enjoyed  Land- 
seer's paintings  of  animals  ;  and  that  I  do  know  the 
esteem  in  which  these  artists  are  held. 

A  highly  bred  dog,  constantly  associating  all  his 
life  with  gentlemen  like  my  master  and  his  friends, 
travelling  all  over  the  country,  visiting  the  homes 
of  the  refined  and  cultivated,  learns  and  under- 
stands a  great  deal  more  than  sceptics  like  yourself 
admit.  It,  in  the  space  of  half  my  lifetime,  a  human 
beingr  can  sink  and  degenerate  from  hiizh  intellig-ence 
and  sensibility  to  stupidity  and  sensuality,  as  low  as 
that  of  the  lowest  brute,  why  is  it  incredible  that  a 


156  Diomed 

dog  is  capable  of  acquiring,  bv  association  with  men, 
such  poor  knowledge,  taste,  powers  ot  observation 
and  reflection,  and  understanding  ot  words,  as  these 
pages  disclose  ?  As  the  production  ot  a  man  thev 
would  be  regarded  as  very  feeble.  Why  deny  to  a 
dog  capacity  to  write  them  ? 

Be  not  ungenerous  to  my  race.  You  may  not 
know  it,  but  it  is  true,  that  the  comparative  anatomy 
of  a  dog,  standing  upon  his  hind  legs,  is  more  like 
that  of  a  human  being  than  is  that  ot  any  other 
animal,  the  monkey  not  excepted.  You  cannot 
deny  that  the  brain  of  a  doo;  possesses  marvellous 
faculties  of  reason  and  memory.  We  love  associ- 
ation with  vou,  oftentimes  better  even  than  with  our 
own  kind.  We  seek  companionship  with  you,  more 
than  creatures  ot  any  other  race.  And  you,  in  your 
turn,  oftentimes  return  this  compliment. 

As  for  our  hearts,  you  turn  trom  mankind  tor  a 
figure  of  speech  to  express  loyaltv  and  unselfishness 
of  the  highest  type,  and  find  the  simile  among  us  in 
the  declaration  that  some  human  being  is  as  "  faith- 
ful as  a  dog." 

So,  away,  henceforth,  it  you  please,  with  this  talk 
about  my  incapacity  to  know,  or  think,  or  write  these 
things  ;  for  I  do  know,  have  thought  and  felt,  and 
can  express  them,  and  it  I  have  not  taken  the  pen 
between  my  toes  to  write  them  down,  it  is  because, 
in  the  first  place,  I  am  old  and  gouty.  In  the  next 
place,  master  and  I  have  to  sit  together  and  talk 
them  over  to  make  the  sluggish  old  current  ot  my 
reminiscences  flow  freely ;  and  this  we  could  not 
do  if  I  were  writing.  And  lastly,  although  an  old 
fogv    in    years,    my    heart   is    young  and    my   ideas 


Dionicd  157 

are  proo;ressive  ;  to  the  end  I  shall  avail  myselt  of 
all  the  modern  aids  to  labor,  among  them  the  ste- 
nographer. 

I  not  onlv  know  these  things  we  have  been  talk- 
ing about,  but  if  vou  press  me  hard,  I  will  convince 
vou  that  even  law  is  not  an  unexplored  field  with 
me.  Do  not  I  well  remember  the  day  when,  hunt- 
ing; on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia,  master  and 
jimmv  Wilkins  and  I,  stretched  at  noon  time  near 
the  ocean  shore  in  the  shadow  of  a  pine,  with  the 
cool  breezes  playing  about  us,  lay  watching  the  sails 
in  the  offing;  and  how  Jimmv,  pointing  to  Mr. 
Nottingham's  adjacent  firm,  told  master  that  Mr. 
Nottingham,  for  a  piebald  Baltimore  muley  cow,  has 
sold  the  exclusive  right,  to  him  and  his  heirs,  to 
hunt  on  his  land,  and  haul  seine  on  his  shore,  tor 
ninety-nine  years.  "  Indeed,"  said  master,  smiling, 
"  vou  have  then  an  '  incorporeal  hereditament.'  " 
"A  what?"  cried  Jimmv,  noisilv.  As  for  myself, 
I  sprung  up  with  a  velp,  thinking  somebody  had 
thrown  something.  "  Say  it  again,"  said  Jimmy;  "  I 
like  it.  It  makes  me  feel  as  if  I  owned  Notting- 
ham's estate."  Master  went  over  it  again.  Having 
overcome  my  first  alarm,  I  drew  near  and  listened. 
That  was,  however,  unnecessary,  for  the  expression 
so  pleased  Jimmv  that,  from  that  time  forth,  he 
called  half  the  people,  and  all  the  things,  he  saw, 
that  dav,  "  incorporeal  hereditaments."  That  eve- 
ning, riding  home,  we  passed  near  by  an  old- 
fashioned  sweep-well,  standing  in  a  yard  near  the 
roadside,  where  an  ancient  darky  was  drawing 
water.  "  Here  !  vou  old  '  incorporeal  heredita- 
ment,' fetch  us  a  gourd  of  water,"  shouted  Jimmy, 


158  Diomed 

lustily.  The  old  darkv  leisurely  lifted  the  sweep, 
as  leisurely  emptied  the  well  bucket  into  his  pail, 
and  moving  over  to  us  slowly,  rested  his  dripping 
burden  on  the  tire  of  our  wheel,  that  we  might 
refresh  ourselves.  "  What  dat  name  you  called 
me  des  now.  Mars  Jimmv?"  said  the  old  man,  with 
a  puzzled  look  upon  his  face.  Jimmv  repeated  it. 
"Look  here,  boy!"  said  he,  with  real  indignation. 
"  1  is  knowed  vou  ever  sense  vou  was  bornd, 
and  yo'  father  befo'  you  ;  but  1  ain't  goin'  to  stand 
no  swarin'  and  hard  names  from  you  ;  and  vou 
oughter  be  ashamed  of  verself  to  call  folks  such 
names  as  dat,  being  church  member  like  vou  sez 
you  is."  Yet,  I  suppose  that  if  I,  who  heard  this 
term  and  its  meaning  discussed  all  day  by  two 
intelligent  men,  had  happened  to  refer  to  it  with- 
out this  explanation,  somebody  would  have  said, 
"  What   absurd   words    to    put   in    the    mouth   of  a 

Read  the  following,  if  you  think  I  am  incapable 
of  memory  and  reflection.  It  was  written  by  my 
master  to  our  friend  the  doctor,  and  reters  to  an 
incident  which  occurred  in  the  summer  of  1887, 
When  the  doctor  came  down  that  autumn,  he 
showed  it  to  me  and  let  me  preserve  it  as  a  precious 
memento.      I  let  master  tell  the  story. 

Dear : 


As  the  period  approaches  when  birds  are  ripe,  I 
write  this  as  a  reminder,  and  trust  you  will  soon  fix 
the  day  when  you  will  be  here.  ...  I  must  tell 
you  Di's  latest  pertormances.  You  know  they  are 
always  interesting.       During  the  heat  of  summer  I 


Diomed 


159 


work  hardest  so  that  I  may  play  in  autumn.  Tlie 
family  is  away.  My  sole  companion  is  Di,  who 
sleeps  on  the  yeranda  by  my  open  window,  sits  by 
my  chair  at  our  solitary  meals,  and  accompanies  me 
to  the  office  ev^ery  day,  returning  with  me  in  the 
eyening.  You  would  hardly  believe  it,  he  is  so 
good   tempered,    but    he    is    a    veritable    Trojan    in 


Battle   Royal. 

battle.  You  remember  the  surly  Irish  setter  Jim 
Blaine,  who  habitually  held  the  sidewalk  at  his 
master's  house,  which  is  on  our  route  to  the  office, 
and  rushed  out  at  every  passing  dog.  Well,  Jim 
kept  up  this  habit  with  Di  for  months.  Di  habit- 
ually crossed  to  the  other  side,  passing  the  bully 
unnoticed  it  possible,  and,  when  pressed  by  him, 
pushing  past  with  head  and  tail  erect  and  bristles 
up,  but  avoiding  a  row  and  apparently  rejoiced  when 
danger  of  a  difficulty  with  Jim  was  over.     At  last. 


i6o  Diomed 

one  day,  Jim  Blaine  pressed  him  a  step  too  far.  He 
not  only  made  his  ordinary  rush,  but  actually  jumped 
upon  Di.  Then  the  tun  began  in  earnest.  Sweet, 
amiable  Di,  who  loves  everybody  and  everything 
that  will  let  him  love,  was  transformed  by  this  in- 
dignity into  a  warrior  worthy  of  his  Grecian  name. 
For  about  two  minutes  we  had  a  regular  dog  cyclone. 
The  upshot  of  it  was  that  Di  pinned  Mr.  Jim  Blaine 
to  the  sidewalk,  holding  him  by  the  throat,  until,  I, 
tearing  he  would  kill  him,  interfered.  Jim,  released, 
incontinently  fled  across  the  street,  hurled  himself 
against  the  halt-open  gate,  and  disappeared  into  his 
master's  premises.  Since  that  day,  when  Di  and  I 
heave  in  sight,  James  rises  from  his  watching-place 
with  great  circumspection,  retires  into  the  vard,  and, 
through  the  gateway,  watches  Di's  triumphant  pas- 
sage. It  is  only  after  we  have  passed  that  Jim  Blaine 
resumes  his  post,  watching  doubtless  for  a  smaller 
dog.  Having  won  with  Di  all  the  honors  that  are 
to  be  won  in  the  field,  what  do  you  think  of  entering 
him  as  a  fighting  dog  ?  He  is  a  holy  terror  when  his 
blood  is  up.  Get  up  a  pit  and  a  purse,  and  I'll 
enter  my  yellow  and  white  against  all  comers. 

Describing  the  fight,  diverted  me  from  my  real 
story.  Hugh  had  been  visiting  Dick  Taylor  in 
Amelia.  On  a  sultry  August  day,  with  the  Venetian 
blinds  closed  and  the  room  darkened  to  keep  out 
the  sweltering  heat,  I  sat  alone,  working  in  the 
office.  Di  had  adopted  a  most  singular  attitude  for 
repose.  Stretched  on  the  matting  bv  the  wash- 
board, he  would  roll  over  on  his  back,  with  his  legs 
resting  against  the  cool  plaster  of  the  wall.  In  this 
position  he  wouki  lie,  sometimes  for  hours  ;  motion- 


Diomed  i6i 

less  save  when  snapping  at  some  pestering  flies.  A 
messenger  entered  with  a  telegram  announcing  that 
Hugh  would  reach  home  by  a  train  arriving  at  four 
o'clock,  and  requesting  me  to  meet  him.  I  called 
my  clerk  from  the  adjoining  room,  for  it  was  then 
near  three  o'clock,  and  remarked,  in  ordinary  tones, 
"  Hugh  will  be  down  from  Amelia  at  four  o'clock  ;  I 
must  meet  him."  You  know  the  devotion  existing 
between  Di  and  Hugh.  Now,  will  you  believe 
what  I  tell  you  ?  The  dog  was  lying  as  I  have  de- 
scribed him,  apparently  asleep.  When  I  said  Hugh 
would  be  here  at  four  o'clock,  Di  rolled  over,  jumped 
up,  trotted  to  me  with  wagging  tail  and  every  evi- 
dence of  joyous  expectation,  and,  from  then  until  I 
left  tlie  office,  sat  watching,  whimpering,  and  giving 
every  hint  of  impatience  to  be  off.  Nay  more. 
When  we  left  the  building,  the  dog,  instead  of  head- 
ing homeward  as  usual,  took  the  opposite  direction, 
leading  towards  the  depot.  How  can  you  account 
for  conduct  like  this  unless  dogs  not  only  compre- 
hend human  language,  but  understand  its  purport 
much  more  thoroughly  than  we  think  ?  Unless 
this  dog's  conduct  was  accidental,  which  seems  al- 
most incredible,  he  not  only  understood  that  Huo;h 
was  coming,  but  the  place  from  which,  and  the  time 
when,  and  the  means  by  which,  he  was  to  come. 
To  do  this  he  certainly  must  have  exercised  powers 
of  reflection,  memory,  and  comparison.  But  what 
followed  is  even  more  surprising.  Hugh  arrived, 
gun  in  hand,  and  with  a  bunch  of  squirrels.  The 
meeting  between  him  and  Di  was  very  demonstra- 
tive, you  may  be  sure.  I  took  a  carriage  for  his 
luggage,  etc.,  into  which  we  entered,  allowing  Di  to 


1 62  Diomed 

run.  He  knows  Richmond  as  well  as  any  man  in 
town,  and  nearly  everybody,  especially  the  police 
force,  know  him.  This  day,  however,  there  were 
many  vehicles  in  the  street,  and  in  some  manner  Di 
became  separated  from  us.  1  gave  myself  no  concern 
about  it,  thinking  he  would  reach  home  ahead  of  us. 
Upon  our  arrival  there  he  was  missing.  Thinking  he 
might  have  gone  back  to  the  office,  I  returned  there, 
but  found  no  trace  of  him.  Becoming  alarmed,  I 
notified  the  police  and  advertised  for  him.  I  never 
realized  until  then  what  a  strong  attachment  I  felt 
for  Di.  It  may  prove  what  a  trifler  I  am,  but  I 
spent  a  wretched  night,  and  arose  several  times  to 
look  out  into  the  yard  and  ascertain  if  he  had  come 
home.  In  the  morning  bright  and  early  I  was  at 
police  headquarters,  but  received  no  intelligence 
whatever  of  Di.  I  had  gone  to  the  depot  the  pre- 
vious evening,  but  all  trains  had  departed,  and  the 
place  was  deserted.  In  sheer  desperation,  I  went 
down  to  the  depot  again  this  morning.  When  I 
arrived  there  the  accommodation  train,  which  leaves 
in  the  evening  for  Amelia  Court  House  and  returns 
in  the  morning,  was  just  arriving.  The  conductor 
was  an  old  acquaintance,  himself  a  passionate  lover 
of  shooting.  "Captain,"  said  I,  "have  you  happened 
to  see  anything  of  my  dog  Di  ?  "  "  What  sort  of  a 
dog  is  he  ? "  said  the  captain.  I  described  him. 
"  Well,"  said  he,  "  I  have  not  only  seen  him,  but 
that  is  the  cleverest  dog  I  ever  saw."  And  this  is 
his  account  of  Di's  adventure.  "  Shortly  before  my 
train  left,  I  passed  through  the  smoking-car,  and  saw 
a  handsome  setter  dog  Iving  under  one  of  the  seats. 
[Just  where  I  would  have  put  him.]       Recognizing 


Dionicd  163 

hini  as  belonging  to  some  gentleman,  and  seeing 
that  he  was  unattended,  and  thinking  he  would  be 
lost  if  I  let  him  go  on  the  train,  I  led  him  out  to 
the  platform  and  told  him  to  go  home.  [They  otten 
made  me  take  him  out  of  the  smoking-car.]  1 
thought  no  more  ot  the  dog  until  we  were  several 
miles  from  the  city,  and  then  went  into  the  baggage- 
car.  There,  to  my  surprise,  I  found  him  curled  up 
in  the  corner.  [Just  where  I  put  him  when  thev 
ordered  him  out  ot  the  smoking-car.]  He  was  such 
a  striking-looking  animal  and  had  such  a  fine  eye,  I 
telt  sure  his  owner  prized  him  ;  and  I  determined  to 
watch  him,  keep  him,  and  fetch  him  back  to  Rich- 
mond this  morning.  I  intended  to  tie  him,  but 
omitted  to  do  so.  Everything  went  smoothly  until 
we  reached  Amelia  Court  House.  I  was  attending 
some  ladies  who  were  leaving  the  train,  when  I  saw 
the  dog  spring  from  the  door  of  the  baggage-car  and 
go  oft  hunting  gaily  across  the  fields.  [This  is  the 
place  where  I  would  have  left  the  train.]  '  Well  ! ' 
thought  I,  '  I  am  sorry  for  his  owner.'  But  of 
course  I  could  do  no  more.  Our  train  went  on  to 
its  destination,  whence  we  returned  to  Amelia  Court 
House.  We  remain  there  all  night,  and  start  from 
there  to  Richmond  in  the  morning.  The  night  was 
warm,  and  I  sat  reading  by  the  lamp  in  the  baggage- 
car,  with  all  the  doors  open.  By  this  time  1  had 
forgotten  the  dog.  About  ten  o'clock  he  bounded 
up  the  steps,  muddy  and  well  tired  from  hunting; 
and,  with  a  passing  wag  of  recognition,  trotted  to  his 
old  place  in  the  corner,  where  he  slept  all  night,  and 
he  returned  with  me  this  morning.'  "  "  Where  is  he, 
then,"    said    I,    rejoiced.       Said    the    captain,    "  We 


164  Diomed 

stopped  at  the  station  across  the  river,  and  there  he 
got  off.  I  am  sure  he  intended  to  get  aboard  again, 
but  he  miscalculated  his  time  and  was  left.  But 
don't  you  be  uneasy  about  that  dog.  He  knows 
how  to  travel  as  well  as  you  or  I  do.  Never  fear 
he'll  not  get  home." 

"  That  is  the  trouble  about  it,"  I  replied.  "  No 
doubt  he  knows  his  way  back  by  the  bridge  across 
the  river,  but  I  am  satisfied  that,  having  begun  his 
trip  bv  rail,  he  will  finish  it  by  rail ;  and  that  he  will 
wait  at  the  station  where  you  left  him  until  another 
train  comes  on,  and  board  that.  Likely  as  not  he 
will  take  another  trip  out  of  town  instead  of  coming 
home."  "  Oh,"  said  the  captain,  "  then  my  train 
backs  across  the  river  to  the  car-yards,  very  near 
where  he  left  us.  You  can  go  over  there  it  you 
choose  and  look  for  him."  So  I  went;  and  there, 
just  where  the  captain  left  him,  Mr.  Diomed  was 
lying  on  the  platform,  apparently  awaiting  the  next 
train.  Of  course  our  greeting  was  very  joyous.  I 
would  give  anything  to  know  what  sort  of  hunt  he 
had,  and  whether  he  intended  to  take  the  train  home 
or  to  return  to  the  country.  I  am  sure  that  the  sight 
of  Hugh's  gun  and  the  game  simply  made  him  teel 
— just  as  you  and  I  do  sometimes  —  that  he  could 
not  live  a  minute  longer  without  a  hunt.  Now  what 
do  you  think  of  all  this  ?  Was  it  all  chance,  or  do 
dogs  know  much  more  than  we  think  they  do  ^ 

During  this  year  master  had  my  portrait  painted. 
Master  did  most  of  the  drawing,  and  a  local  artist 
of  some  celebrity  put  in  the  coloring.  Here  is  a 
copy  of  the  portrait. 


i66  Diomed 

Everybody  pronounced  the  likeness  very  fine  at 
the  time,  but  master  and  I  both  saw  grave  defects 
in  it.  It  made  mv  chest  entirely  too  small,  the 
body  is  too  long,  and  the  almost  denuded  tail  was 
master's  work.  I  had  a  finely  feathered  tail  of 
which  I  was  proud,  but  during  hunting  season  it 
would,  of  course,  be  thinned  out  very  much  by  con- 
tact with  the  briars  and  grasses.  Master  said  he 
wanted  me  as  I  looked  in  hunting  season,  and  he 
would  have  it  that  way.  There  is  no  denying  that 
the  head  and  the  legs  in  the  portrait  are  very  fine 
Hkenesses,  but  I  have  always  regretted  Tracy  did 
not  paint  the  picture.  If  we  had  known  he  was 
coming  so  soon,  I'm  sure  he  would  have  had  the 
order. 

Many  pages  back  I  began  this  chapter,  honestly 
intending  to  devote  it  to  the  account  ot  Mr.  Tracy's 
arrival  and  the  sketching  tour  we  made  with  him. 
After  rambling  off"  I  am  finally  back  to  my  theme, 
but  must  take  it  up  in  a  new  chapter. 

Tracy's  coming  had  been  much  discussed  among 
my  dog  friends.  There  was  Courtlev,  a  very 
handsome,  worthless,  thoroughbred  Lavarack  loafer, 
owned  by  Mr.  Wormeley,  on  the  adjoining  block. 
"  Tracy  coming,  eh  !  "  said  Courtley,  with  a  drawl 
of  affected  indifference.  "  All  right.  I  presume 
he  is  hunting  for  a  perfect  form.  Di,  you  know 
you'll  not  fill  the  bill  at  all.  Send  him  down  to 
me,  and  I'll  give  him  a  sitting." 

Then  Mr.  Tom  Boiling's  little  pointer  Belle 
made  some  excuse  for  stopping  at  our  gate  to  ask 
if  Mr.  Tracy  was  really  coming,  and  whether  he 
intended   to   paint  a  few  dogs  of  the   genuine  old 


Dionied 


167 


Virginia  stock.  She  claimed  to  be  that  herself, 
because  she  was  born  at  Brandon,  among  the  Har- 
risons. Now  I  know  the  fact  that  a  Canadian  officer 
gave  her  grandmother  to  Captain  Shirley  Harrison, 
not  ten  years  betore  that  time,  and  her  father  was 
a  son  ot  our  old  Yankee  Tom.  So  what  was  the 
sense  ot  Belle  talking  about  posing  as  the  old  Vir- 
ginia stock  ?      Well  !    James   Riyer  water  must  put 


Plebeian  Associates. 


such  notions  in  men  and  dogs.  I  ha\'e  known  lots 
of  them  who  came  from  nowhere  or  anywhere,  and 
were  anybody  or  nobody,  but  who  just  happened, 
somehow,  to  get  hold  ot,  or  live  upon  a  James 
River  plantation.  Humble  and  quiet  enough  they 
were  at  first ;  but  betore  five  years  had  gone  by, 
they  would  begin  posing  and  talking  about  the 
olden  times  and  the  genuine  representatives  of  the 
old  Virginia  stock,  and  seem  to  think  they  were, 
in  fact,  what  they  pretended  to  be.      As  for   Belle, 


i68  Diomed 

she  was  a  "weed,"  and  a  fool  besides.  Tracy  would 
not  have  looked  at  her  out  of  the  corner  of  his  eye. 
Still,  I  answered  her  query  politely,  as  became  my 
position  and  her  own. 

"  And  is  Mr.  Tracy  really  coming,  Di  ? "  said 
Mr.  Harrv  Fuller's  little  blue  belton  setter  Dinah, 
with  the  thrushy  throaty  sweetness  of  an  English 
country  girl ;  as,  through  the  blooming  roses  of  her 
master's  front-vard,  she  looked  out  upon  the  street, 
in  the  early  morning.  "  Bet  your  sweet  life  he  will, 
my  beauty,"  said  I,  stopping  outside  of  the  fence  to 
admire  her  and  listen  to  her  tender  voice.  That 
girl  always  made  me  feel  like  assuming  a  bantering 
style.  For,  with  "  all  the  blood  of  all  the  Howards  " 
in  her  veins,  and  possessing  genuine  worth  herself, 
she  was  yet  so  maidenly  and  modest  that  she  needed 
some  manly  jollying  to  brace  her  up  and  show  her 
at  her  best."  "And  will  he  paint  your  picture  ^  It 
he  does,  do  give  me  one.  Now  will  you  ?  "  She 
talked  this  way  to  me  because  I  had  known  her 
from  a  baby.  "  To  be  sure  I  will.  I'll  give  you 
the  original,  you  bewitching  creature.  Get  out  your 
orange  blossoms  and  let  us  be  painted  together,  get- 
ting married."  You  should  have  seen  little  Dinah's 
blushes  as  she  cried,  "  Go  away,  you  saucy,  impu- 
dent wretch,"  and  watched  me  with  laughing  eyes, 
as  I  galloped  off  to  rejoin  master  on  his  way  to 
market. 

"  When's  your  picture  man  a  comin'  ?  "  growled 
the  butcher's  bull-dog  from  the  rear  of  the  stall, 
where  he  was  chained.  "  Couldn't  say,"  replied  I, 
bluntly,  at  the  same  time  looking  cautiously  to  see 
that    his    chain   was    strong    enough    to    hold    him. 


Diomed 


169 


"  Mebbe  he'd  like  my  fortegraff,  eh  !  "  said  he, 
with  a  teartul  attempt  at  a  smile.  "  Hardly,"  said 
I  ;  "Tracy  confines  himself  to  painting  gentlemen." 
"What's  that  .^  You  impudent  coxcomb,"  said  the 
bull-dog  ;  and  as  he  strained,  panting  on  his  chain, 
after  a  vain  effort  to  release  himself,  he  growled,  with 
bloodshot  eyes,  "  If  I  could  only  slip  this  chain,  I'd 
fix  you  so  vou'd  make  a  famous  picture  of  a  o;entle- 
man."  What  he  said  was  no  doubt  true.  I  felt 
it,  and  I  was  sideling  off  to  the  fish-stall,  for  the  con- 
versation was  becoming  disagreeable.  Just  at  that 
moment  the  fish-monger's  big  cat  rushed  at  me 
with  a  whirr  and  a  spat,  and  gave  me  a  quick  wipe 
of  her  keen  claws  across  my  unsuspecting  nose. 
I  felt  that  it  was  time  to  bid  these  friends  good 
morning,  and  retired  without  much  ceremony. 
A  week  later  the  artist  arrived. 


%-$i0^ 


•c'-\fBi'^^^'^'f 


-.»*'  <.*c:>- 


Chapter  XI 

(1887) 
A  Week  with  an  Artist  —  Pampatike 


'^^*^  T  was  one  of  those  balmy,  hazy,  never- 
to-be-forgotten,  Indian-summer  days 
in  November,  when  Mr.  Tracy  came.  We  were  on 
the  broad  veranda,  with  its  traihng  vines,  when  the 
carriage  which  bore  him  drove  up.  How  different, 
when  we  see  them,  from  what  our  fancy  has  pictured 
them,  are  the  people  we  have  heard  of  for  a  long 
time.  I  had  alwavs  expected  to  see  in  Mr.  Tracy 
a  young,  vigorous  man.  When  he  made  his  ap- 
pearance, I  perceived  at  once  that  he  was  more 
gray,  and  bent,  and  older  looking  than  I  had  ex- 
pected. Such  is  the  price  men  pay  for  fame.  As 
he  advanced  along  the  pathway  I  saw  the  secret  of 

170 


Diomed  171 

his  personal  popuhiritv.  It  lav  in  his  gentle,  bril- 
liant, loving  eves.  Who  that  ever  looked  in  them 
will  torget  their  earnest,  intelligent,  and  tender  ex- 
pression. Mistress  met  him  on  the  door  steps  with 
heartv  greeting.  I  heard  his  gentle  voice,  and  saw 
pleasure  and  kindness  ripple  about  his  mouth,  as  he 
lifted  the  children  in  his  arms,  and  looked  at  them 
winninglv,  and  kissed  them,  with  more  than  formal 
courtesv.  Then  I  knew  whv  Tracy's  Hfe  was  fol- 
lowed bv  troops  ot-  triends. 

The  weather  was  so  pleasant  we  all  remained 
upon  the  veranda.  Turning  to  me,  almost  as  gentlv 
as  to  the  children,  he  said,  "  And  this  is  Di,  is  it  ?  " 
Bending;  beside  me,  mv  head  between  his  hands,  he 
examined  me  caretullv,  saving,  "  Old  fellow,  I  have 
known  of  vou  tor  manv  a  dav.  We  shall  be  good 
friends,  no  doubt."  As  he  looked  me  over,  he 
ejaculated  from  time  to  time  :  "  Noble  head.  Fine 
intelligent  eve.  Large  lobe  to  brain.  Ear  too  full 
and  too  hicrh  on  head.  Strong  neck.  Great  shoul- 
ders. Powerkd  loin  and  driving  power.  Superb 
joints.  Heavv  bone  and  muscle.  Chest  might  be 
deeper.  A  little  high  on  the  leg,  and  too  high 
behind,  tor  beauty."  Then,  rising,  he  added,  "  But, 
taken  altogether,  an  animal  of  great  intelligence, 
strength,  and  endurance  ;  which,  backed  bv  the  in- 
tense nervous  energv  I  see  in  every  movement  and 
in  everv  look,  gives  vou  an  almost  perfect  dog." 
This  last  was  to  master,  who  stood  looking  on.  I 
ended  the  discussion  rather  abruptlv.  Seeing  Miss 
Fuller  and  Dinah  passing;  on  the  opposite  side  ot 
the  wav,  I  quicklv  slipped  my  head  from  between 
his  hands,  scampered  down  the  steps  and  across  the 


172  Diomed 

yard;  gave  him  a  specimen  ot  the  nervous  energv 
he  was  talking  about,  as,  with  one  bound,  I  topped 
the  three-foot-high  pointed  pahngs  ;  and,  a  moment 
later,  was  trotting  gavly  by  Dinah's  side,  telling  her 
Tracy  had  come,  and  asking  it  she  had  her  orange 
blossoms  ready.  Nervous  energv  !  What  is  that  ? 
Whence  came  it  ?  Where  does  it  go,  and  when,  and 
whv  ?  I  had  it  then,  to  heart's  content.  One  day, 
driving  along,  I  heard  them  discussing  me,  and 
master  was  frankly  admitting  certain  defects  in  my 
form.  "  Yes,"  replied  Mr.  Tracy.  "  That  may 
all  be  true.  He  may  not  have  perfection  of  form 
to  win  first  prize  at  a  bench  show  ;  or  conform,  in 
every  line,  to  the  theoretical  requisites  for  field 
work  ;  but,  when  a  dog  has  the  nervous  energy  of 
this  one,  backed  by  his  brain  power,  he  can  run  in 
any  form.  It  is  as  much  the  case  with  men  as  with 
dogs.  Form  is  but  an  index.  It  often  deceives  us. 
How  manv  handsome  men  and  dogs  disappoint  us 
in  their  capacity  !  How  many  insignificant  looking 
men  and  beasts  have  astonished  us  with  their  per- 
formances !  After  all,  brains  and  nervous  energy 
are  what  we  are  seeking.  When  we  find  them,  the 
form  of  body  which  contains  them,  is  almost  as  in- 
significant as  the  paper  boxes  in  which  we  receive 
our  jewels."  "  In  other  words,"  said  master,  "after 
all  your  years  at  bench  shows  and  field  trials,  you 
have  come  back  to  the  point  which  Ihave  never  left, 
that  bench  show  torm  is  an  almost  worthless  index 
of  worth  in  the  field;  and  that  the  dog  which,  like 
the  singed  cat,  '  feels  better  than  he  looks,'  is  the 
best  dog  to  own."  "  Exactly  so,"  replied  the  artist, 
laughing;  then,  growing  serious,  he  added,  "  Nervous 


Dionied 


^73 


energy  is  oftentimes  even  better  than  brains.  Pos- 
sessed of  it,  a  man  may  make  mistakes,  recover  from 
them,  and  try  again  and  succeed.  Without  it  the 
finest  brain  on  earth  is  handicapped  and  unproduc- 
tive. Do  you  know,"  added  he,  sadly,  "  that  is 
my  trouble  now.  In  times  gone  by,  work  was  play 
to  me.  Great  part  of  whatever  reputation  I  have 
been  able  to  achieve,  I  earned  by  almost  ceaseless 
activity.  To-day  my  brain  is  as  clear  as  it  ever 
was  ;  my  experience  greater  ;  my  taste  more  correct ; 
but  my  physical  capacity  for  work  is  gone,  my 
nervous  energy  all  exhausted."  Perhaps  he  did  not 
know  how  truly  he  spoke.  Certainly  it  never 
occurred  to  me  then  that  within  six  years  from  that 
time  the  grave  would  be  green  over  poor  Tracy  ; 
or  that  I,  with  this  same  nervous  energy  all  departed, 
would  be  left,  old  and  enfeebled,  wondering  whence 
that  marvellous  thing  came,  and  why,  or  whither,  it 
takes  its  flight.  Applicable  to  my  own  case  now, 
come  back  the  artist's  words,  "  My  brain  is  as  clear 
as  it  ever  was ;  my  experience  greater ;  but  my 
physical  capacity  tor  work  is  gone ;  my  nervous 
energy  all  exhausted."  Nervous  energy  is  youth  and 
health.  No  more,  no  less.  Compared  with  it,  what 
are  wealth  or  fame }  With  it,  both  are  possible. 
Without  it,  both  are  but  as  bitter  ashes.  Bear  this 
in  mind,  dear  reader;  whoever  you  may  be  —  man 
or  woman  —  boy  or  girl.  If  a  dog  can  impress  this 
truth  upon  you,  that  the  preservation  of  your  youth 
and  health  is  more  precious  to  you  than  all  the 
wealth,  or  all  the  fame,  this  earth  can  give,  his  life 
has  not  been  in  vain. 

The  morning  following   Mr,   Tracy's    arrival  we 


174  Diomed 

started  in  a  shooting-wagon  on  an  excursion.  Our 
party  consisted  of  Mr.  Tracv,  a  voung  friend  and 
relative  of  master  from  New  York,  master,  and 
the  driver.  Mr.  Tracv  was  desirous  of  viewing 
some  of  the  battle-fields  about  the  citv  ;  and,  in 
order  to  gratify  him,  master  decided  to  visit  Colonel 
Carter  at  Pampatike,  in  King  William  County,  on 
the  Pamunkv.  Our  route  took  us  through  the 
battle-fields  ot  Mechanicsville,  Gaines'  Mill,  Cold 
Harbor,  and  Bethesda  Church.  The  shooting  was 
not  of  the  best  along  this  portion  of  our  route,  as 
most  ot  the  land  about  these  famous  places  was 
deserted  and  overgrown  with  stunted  pines.  Be- 
yond them,  however,  on  the  flats  of  the  Pamunkv, 
game  was  abundant.  Colonel  Carter's  was  selected 
as  our  stopping-place  for  several  reasons.  It  was 
about  a  day's  ride  from  the  city,  and  two  of  our 
boys  were  there  at  school.  Master  wished  not  only 
to  pay  them  a  visit,  but  to  show  his  friends  a 
genuine  old  Virginia  establishment,  presided  over  by 
a  gentleman  and  lady,  in  the  old-fashioned  way  of 
"  befo'  de  wah." 

If  ever  the  truth  that  health  is  worth  wealth  and 
fame  combined  had  an  apt  illustration,  it  was  in  the 
three  men  who  sat  in  our  shooting-wagon. 

There  was  Tracv,  whose  reputation  as  an  artist 
had  been  known  all  over  America  before  he  was 
forty  years  of  age.  Was  he  happy  ^  Alas  !  and 
alas  !  The  pale,  anxious  face  gave  the  answer  too 
plainly.  Not  all  the  sweetness  or  philosophy  ot  his 
nature  could  efface  from  his  countenance  or  his  eve 
the  anxious  look  which  told  that  he  knew  the 
shadow  of  death  hung  over  him.     Gladly  now  would 


Diomcd  175 

he  have  given  up,  for  the  health  that  was  gone, 
whatever  he  possessed  of  tame.  Her  smiles  mocked 
him.  He  beheld  Death's  grinning  face  peering  at 
him  over  Fame's  shoulder. 

By  his  side  was  a  young  lawyer ;  a  graduate  of 
Harvard  ;  a  man  of  the  highest  social  connection 
and  standing  in  New  York ;  possessed  of  wealth 
estimated  in  millions. 

Was  he  happy?  Alas!  and  alas!  As  he  drew 
about  him  the  thick  wraps  anci  coughed,  the  hectic 
color  mounting  his  cheek  ;  as  he  complained  of  the 
chilliness  that  health  does  not  feel  ;  as  he  grew 
quickly  weary  of  the  pursuit  of  sport ;  and  silently 
awaited,  at  the  vehicle,  the  return  of  his  stronger 
companions ;  it  was  easy  to  see  that  wealth  and 
social  prominence  were  not  his  for  long. 

Turning  from  these  to  master,  I  thought  to  my- 
self, Is  he  happy  ?  I  knew  that  but  a  short  time 
before,  he  had  been  disappointed  in  the  great  ambi- 
tion of  his  life,  in  a  way  calculated  to  embitter  him. 
I  knew  he  was  not  rich ;  and  that  even  at  that 
moment  his  whole  estate  was  in  jeopardy.  Many  a 
time,  when  we  were  alone  together,  I  had  seen  him 
sit,  with  knit  brow  and  anxious  look,  pondering  on 
political  failures  or  financial  difficulties.  Oftentimes 
1  saw  him  very  sad  and  very  grave.  But  he  always 
roused  himself  from  such  sadness  and  such  silence, 
with  fire  in  his  eye,  and  a  look  about  his  mouth  and 
lower  jaw,  defiant  and  unconquered.  Then  we 
would  go  out  together  and  seek  companionship  with 
men.  With  health  he  could  shake  off  depression 
and  show  the  outside  world  a  face  as  cheerful  and 
full  of  confidence  as   if  he   had  been   invincible  in 


176  Diomed 

politics,  and  rich.  We  had  health  and  nervous 
energy  as  our  allies  then.  The  battle  was  not  over 
with  us.  We  intended  to  try  again.  We  hoped  ! 
We  expected  to  fight  again  ;  to  fight  as  energetically 
as  befi3re  ;  and,  profiting  by  past  experience  and  dis- 
aster, to  win  both  tame  and  fortune  at  the  last. 

Looking  at  master  that  day,  I  said  to  myself,  "Is 
he  happy  ?  If  so,  why  ?  In  the  field  ot  fame  he 
has  failed  where  Tracy  succeeded.  He  is  poor, 
while  the  other  gentleman  is  rich.  If  these  two  are 
miserable,  how  can  he  be  gay  ?  " 

We  were  driving  through  the  battle-field  of  Gaines' 
Mill.  Master  was  showing,  from  time  to  time,  the 
interesting  points.  His  defeat  in  politics,  his  money 
troubles,  were,  for  the  time  being  at  least,  forgotten. 
This  was  one  of  his  methods  of  getting  rid  of  them. 
His  soul  was  in  the  theme  which  he  discussed.  In 
the  lulls  of  conversation  he  made  the  silent  pines 
resound  with  a  rather  bad  interpretation  of  "  The 
Poacher."  When  he  bawled  out  at  the  top  of  his 
voice, 

"  Oh  !    It's  mv  delight  on  a  moonshiiiv  night, 
In  the  season  ot  the  vear-r-r," 

the  New  York  gentleman,  amused  at  his  energetic 
minstrelsy,  mayhap  envying  the  strength  of  his 
lungs,  said  it  was  equal  to  Harry  Becket's  singing  of 
this  popular  song  at  the  Lamb's  Club.  "  Verily," 
thought  I  to  myself,  "  master,  disappointed  in  fame 
and  wealth,  is  nevertheless  the  happiest  man  in  the 
party."  So  he  was.  He  stood  there,  tossing  into 
the  wagon  the  last  brace  of  birds  which  he  had 
walked  a  mile  to  kill,  the  very  embodiment  of  health 


Dionied  i'77 

and  strength.  He  possessed  that  without  which 
fame  is  sour,  and  wealth  is  bitter.  That  without 
which  the  highest  peaks  of  wealth  and  fame  seem, 
to  the  diseased  chmber,  flat  and  viewless  as  the  mo- 
rasses of  poverty  and  obscuritv.  He  had  an  iron  con- 
stitution ;  lungs  like  a  blacksmith's  bellows  ;  good 
digestion  ;  youth  ;  health  ;  and  a  clear  conscience. 
These  are  the  foundations  of  the  thing  called  ner- 
vous energy.  While  it  lasts,  Hope  whispers  that 
Fame  and  Wealth  will  yet  be  won,  however  elusive 
thev  may  have  been  in  the  past. 

And  where  are  the  three  men  now,  —  one  with 
fame,  another  with  money,  the  third  with  health,  as 
their  respective  portions  ? 

Tracv's  fate  you  know. 

The  New  York  gentleman  lies  sleeping  in  the 
English  cemetery  in  Cairo.  He  died  in  Egypt, 
vainly  pursuing  the  flitting  phantom  of  health.  His 
millions  were  but  as  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit. 

And  master,  what  of  him  ^ 

He  is  still  healthy  ;  consequently  not  unhappy. 
Still  fighting  the  battle  of  life,  therefore  not  as  one 
without  hope.  How  much  of  fame  he  has  gained, 
or  of  wealth  he  has  amassed,  I  cannot  say.  All  I 
know  is,  that  one  day  he  announced  he  was  tired  of 
fighting  life's  battle  at  long  range  in  an  obscure 
locality ;  that  fame  and  wealth  resided  in  New 
York  ;  that  he  was  going  to  moye  there,  and  haye 
a  hand-to-hand  bowie-knife  fight  to  a  finish  with 
fame  and  fortune,  before  his  health  and  nervous 
energy  were  iJi;one  ;  and  that  then,  it  he  tailed,  he 
could  at  least  console  himself  as  did  the  Nantucket 
whaler,  after  a  three  years'  unsuccessful   cruise,   by 


lyS  Diomed 

saving,  "  Well,  if  I  didn't  catch  a  single  whale,  I 
had  a  bully  sail." 

That's  my  master,  and  he  and  I  love  each  other 
because  we  are  alike. 

You  boys,  men-bovs  and  dog-boys,  who  read  this 
book,  remember  what  I  say. 

If  vou  love  vour  work;  if  vou  guard  vour  health 
and  strength  as  the  best  thing  you  have  or  can  pos- 
sess ;  if  vou  keep  up  life's  struggle  to  the  last,  in  fair 
weather  and  in  foul ;  if  vou  maintain  your  pluck  and 
refuse  to  be  cast  down  bv  failure,  —  at  the  finish  you 
will  come  out  victors  in  life's  battle. 

Men  have  called  me  a  first-class  dog.  They  call 
mv  master  a  first-class  sportsman.  On  the  whole, 
perhaps  we  are ;  and  for  the  compliment  I  teel 
grateful.  Still,  I  have  hunted  with  many  a  dog 
faster  than  mvself,  and  with  many  who  pos- 
sessed keener  noses.  I  have  also  hunted  with  many 
men  who  were  better  shots  than  master.  But,  when 
I  had  mv  vouth  and  nervous  energy,  my  master  and 
I,  taken  dav  in  and  dav  out,  could  kill  more  game 
than  anv  man  and  dog  we  ever  worked  against. 
Whv  ?  Because  we  went  earlv  and  stopped  late. 
With  our  health  and  strength  and  energy  we  kept 
up  the  fight  from  davlight  up  to  daylight  down  ; 
and  men  and  dogs  of  that  kind  are  few  and  tar 
between. 

Dog-bovs,  don't  be  afraid  of  any  dog  because  he 
is  faster  or  has  a  keener  nose  than  vourself.  Men- 
bovs,  don't  be  afraid  of  men  of  brilliant  attainments 
or  so-called  phenomenal  talents.  It  you  put  your 
heart  in  vour  work,  and  have  health  and  staying 
quality,  and  that  same  old  nervous  energy,  tew,  it 


Di 


lomec 


179 


any,  will   be  in  advance  ot  you,  when   the   winning 
post  of  life's  race  conies  in  sight. 

Our  route  to  Pampatike  brought  us  by  my  old 
boarding-school  at  Mr.  Turner's.  We  found  him 
at  home,  and  he  was  rejoiced  to  see  us.  Since  my 
long  residence  in  town  and  my  travels  in  the  West, 
the  house  and  place  appeared  much  smaller  than 
I  had  remembered  them.  Mr.  Turner  insisted 
upon  showing  us  a  covey  on  his  place,  and  I  did 
for  him  the  handsomest  and  most  stylish  work  of 
which  I  am  capable,  you  may  be  sure.  The  dear 
old  tellow  accompanied  us  to  the  Piping-tree  ferry, 
near  which,  to  my  great  joy,  I  found  a  royal  flock 
of  wild  turkeys,  I  flushed  them  in  most  approved 
style,  barking  and  chasing  furiously.  This  was 
proper,  as  all  turkey-hunters  know.  Unfortunately, 
no  one  of  our  party  was  prepared  for  them,  and 
they  all  flew  unharmed  across  the  river  to  the  bluffs, 
whither  they  were  no  doubt  going  when  I  put  them 
up.  It  was  too  late  to  hope  to  call  them  up  that 
evening ;  but  if  we  had  returned  before  day  and 
built  blinds,  we  would  surely  have  had  a  shot.  A 
few  hundred  yards  further  on  we  came  to  the  his- 
toric ferry,  and  saw  the  tree  from  which  it  takes  its 
name.  By  blowing  into  a  hole  in  its  roots,  persons 
wishing  to  cross  produce  a  weird,  piping  signal  to 
the  ferryman  on  the  other  side.  Mr.  Tracy  had  his 
camera  with  him,  and  made  our  first  successful  pict- 
ure. One  or  two  snap  shots  which  he  made  of  me, 
pointing,  turned  out  worthless.  This  picture  of  the 
ferry,  however,  was  beautiful  when  developed,  and 
I  present  it  as  something  which  may  remind  a  sports- 
man of  similar  scenes  in  his  own  experiences. 


ISO 


Diomed 


Piping-tree  Ferry. 

Beyond  the  ferry,  entering  our  road  from  another, 
our  own  boys,  Henry  and  Jack,  dashed  up  to  us 
on  horseback,  returning  from  the  postoffice,  whither 
some  of  the  schoolboys  at  Pampatike  went  eyery  day. 
Great  was  their  surprise  and  joy  at  sight  ot  us  ;  tor 
beyond  the  ordinary  pleasure  derived  from  visitors 
in  the  country,  the  presence  of  their  father  insured 
them  a  hoHday,  and  a  hunt  on  the  morrow. 

As  we  drove  up  the  long  avenue  of  cedars  leading 
to  the  Pampatike  mansion,  the  boys  dashed  forward 
with  shout  and  laughter  to  announce  our  coming. 
By  the  time  we  reached  the  house,  a  dozen  people 
at  least  were  awaiting  us.  The  merry  signals  had 
collected  the  entire  household,  and  interrupted  a 
game  of  tennis  upon  the  lawn.  At  first  sight,  the 
house  itself  was  rather  disappointing,  being  merely 
a  jumble  of  frame  structures,  built  at  different 
periods,  and  without  pretence  to  architectural  de- 
sign  or  beauty  ;    but    within,  the    residence  was    so 


Dionied  i  8  i 

delightfully  homelike  that  its  unprepossessing  exte- 
rior was  soon  forgotten. 

The  most  striking  figure  which  greeted  us  was 
Colonel  Carter.  Of  medium  height,  and  rather 
slender  build,  his  clear-cut  military  features  were 
lit  bv  an  eve  with  an  expression  which  could  pass 
from  that  of  the  eagle  to  that  of  the  gazelle,  as 
occasion  demanded.  About  his  grizzled  moustache 
and  pointed  beard  played  a  smile  ot  genuine  wel- 
come ;  and  in  his  whole  bearing  was  visible  the 
quiet  dio;nitv  and  simplicity  of  a  country  gentle- 
man, owning,  as  his  father  had  before  him,  every- 
thing about  him,  and  accustomed  to  command. 
At  his  side,  her  ample  proportions  surmounted 
by  a  face  still  beautitul  as  a  Madonna,  stood  the 
mistress  of  Pampatike,  with  her  two  blooming 
daughters  and  a  son.  Behind  these  was  a  hand- 
some man,  the  youngest  son  of  Robert  E.  Lee, 
bearing  his  immortal  name,  and  not  unlike  him. 
Besides  the  immediate  family,  a  young  tutor,  and 
half  a  dozen  schoolboys  ranging  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  years  of  age,  were  grouped  about  them. 
"  Gracious  !  "  exclaimed  Tracy,  as  he  beheld  the 
house  and  the  number  it  was  called  upon  to  con- 
tain. "  Thev  will  have  no  place  for  us.  We  must 
go  back."  "  Never  you  mind,"  said  master. 
"  Houses  and  hospitality  in  these  parts  are  made 
of  inciia-rubber,  and  can   stretch." 

The  process  ot  introduction  gone  through  with, 
and  our  wagon  unloaded,  the  gentlemen  were  shown 
to  their  rooms,  with  all  apprehensions  quieted  as  to 
Pampatike's  capacity  for  accommodating  guests. 

Colonel  "  Tom  "   Carter  of  Pampatike,  as  he  is 


1 82  Diomed 

caressingly  called  by  the  thousands  who  know, 
honor,  and  love  him,  is  direct  lineal  descendant 
of  that  John  Carter  of  Corotoman,  who  came  to 
Virginia  in  1649;  ^^°  ^^^  ^'^^  trusted  friend  of 
Lord  Fairfax ;  and  whose  descendants  are  more 
numerous  to-day  in  the  Old  Dominion  than  those 
of  any  other  two  men  who  ever  begat  or  begot 
upon  her  soil.  As  a  boy,  Tom  was  sent  to  Vir- 
ginia's Military  Institute,  and  took  his  degree  there, 
little  dreaming  how  soon  his  military  knowledge 
would  be  needed.  With  the  death  of  the  old  folks 
came  his  inheritance  of  Pampatike ;  and  who  so 
fitting  to  be  its  mistress  as  beautiful  and  beloved 
Sue  Roy  of  Gloucester?  It  has  been  said  of  her, 
that  she  was  so  good  and  kind  and  true,  as  well  as 
beautiful,  that  even  her  many  rejected  lovers  bore 
her  no  grudge  in  their  disappointment,  and  still 
remained  her  warm  admirers.  Here,  at  old  Pam- 
patike, this  last  generation  of  the  Carters  built  their 
nest ;  and,  amidst  love  and  peace  and  plenty,  had 
begun  to  rear  another  brood  of  the  old  stock,  when 
war  burst  upon  them.  The  Carters  were  Whigs  to 
the  last  man  of  them.  Responsibility  for  war  lav 
not  at  their  doors,  for  they  were  Federalists  and 
Union  men.  But  when  it  came  in  spite  of  them, 
they  considered  that  their  first  allegiance  was  due  to 
Virginia,  and  so  believing,  not  a  regiment  of  Virginia 
troops  that  marched  away  to  her  defence  was  with- 
out its  full  quota  of  the  Carters.  Why  should  it 
not  be  so  ?  Were  they  not  bone  of  her  bone  and 
flesh  of  her  flesh  ^  And  besides,  were  they  not 
cousins  ot  Robert  E.  Lee  ?  That  was  enough. 
"  Blood  is  thicker  than  water,"  is  the  Carter  rally- 


Diomed 


183 


ing  cry;  and  whoever  strikes  a  Carter  has  the  family 
to  fight !  So  at  it  they  went,  hammer  and  tongs, 
and  rekictant  as  they  had  been  to  begin,  they  con- 
tinued fighting,  such  of  them  as  were  not  killed, 
until  their  cousin  Robert  advised  them  that  it  was 
madness  to  prolong  the  struggle. 


Pampatike. 

Tom  went  out  as  captain  of  a  batterv.  Wounded 
and  promoted  several  times,  he  was  colonel  when 
the  surrender  at  Appomattox  came.  His  gallantrv 
was  as  widelv  recognized  as  that  of  anv  officer  oi 
Lee's  army. 

His  wife  was  as  heroic  as  himselt.  Although  she 
knew  that  Pampatike  would  necessarilv  be  within 
the  zone  of  militarv  operations,  she  declared  it  to 
be  her  duty  and  her  purpose  to  remain  there  and 
conduct  and  protect  the  plantation.     This  she  did. 


184  Diomed 

But  the  task  was  not  without  its  horrors  and  its 
dangers.  Every  soldier  who  put  his  foot  upon  the 
place,  be  he  Union  or  Contederate,  honored  and 
respected  Mrs.  Carter.  She  would  not  retuse  food 
to  the  hungry,  or  succor  to  sick  and  wounded, 
whether  they  were  friends  or  toes.  But  notwith- 
standing the  deference  shown  to  her  by  all,  she 
could  not  fail  to  witness  many  harrowing  sights. 
One  day  a  party  of  Union  scouts  was  attacked  in 
her  yard,  and  one  of  their  number  was  shot  dead 
upon  the  porch  of  Pampatike.  When  the  combat- 
ants had  withdrawn,  she  called  her  servants,  ordered 
a  grave  prepared,  read  over  the  dead  soldier  the 
Episcopal  burial  service,  and  laid  him  in  his  grave. 
This  done,  the  ordinary  routine  of  the  tarm  was 
resumed  as  it  no  war  was  in  progress.  Never  a 
servant  left  her  until  the  end.  How  could  they  ? 
They  depended  upon  her  even  more  than  she 
depended  on  them.  Another  day,  she  heard  the 
crash  of  every  gun  her  husband's  artillery  tired  at 
the  battle  at  Bethesda  Church,  but  a  few  miles 
from  home. 

She  was  alone  in  her  room  that  day,  praying  tor 
his  safety. 

So  things  went  on  —  he  in  the  forefront  of  the 
battle,  she  at  her  post  upon  the  farm  —  for  four 
years.  Then  came  the  end.  The  peerless  infantry 
of  Eee  stacked  arms.  Tom  Carter's  battalion  of 
artillery  was  parked ;  and  as  a  friend  said  ot 
him,  "  for  the  last  time  saluting  the  old  flag  that 
was  bedabbled  with  his  blood,"  he  turned  his  head 
homeward  to  Pampatike,  and  never  more  aspired 
to  be  a  soldier.      Look  at  the  colonel   and  his  wife 


Diomed  185 

now,  —  serene,  hospitable,  gentle.  How  hard  it  is 
to  put  them  back  into  their  old  places  in  the  past. 
It  required  clt)se  cjuestioning  to  elicit  from  either 
of  them  any  part  of  the  story  of  their  war-time 
troubles. 

Impov^erished  by  war.  Colonel  Carter  again  sought 
employment  in  active  life;  and  as  his  duties  took 
him  away,  she,  wishing  to  keep  her  children  about 
her,  had  engaged  a  tutor  for  her  youngest  boy,  and 
taken  eight  or  ten  other  bovs  as  boarders.  Eight 
or  ten,  —  that  was  all.  People  would  have  been  so 
glad  to  send  their  sons  to  such  a  place  that  she  could 
have  had,  it  she  would  have  taken  them,  a  hundred 
boys  ;  but  she  declined  to  increase  the  number. 

We  were  lucky  to  find  the  colonel  at  home. 
Pampatike  was  at  its  best  when  "  Colonel  Tom," 
mounted  on  his  blaze-faced  thoroughbred  bay  filly, 
Langtry,  was  sweeping  the  low  grounds  with  his 
eagle  eye,  just  as  he  once  rode  around  looking  for 
positions  for  his  guns. 

Such  were  our  host  and  hostess,  and  such  the 
place  where  we  were  visiting.  Oh  !  how  it  pained 
me  to  hear,  a  year  or  two  ago,  that  the  colonel  had 
closed  the  Pampatike  establishment!  The  girls  and 
boys  had  married,  all  but  one;  and  he,  the  youngest, 
was  in  business  in  a  neighboring  citv.  The  colonel's 
duties  called  him  to  another  state  ;  and  the  lady  of 
the  house,  after  all  her  long  years  of  rule  at  Pam- 
patike, left  alone,  followed  the  others,  and  closed 
its  doors. 

Farewell,  old  place  !  Another  of  the  few  remain- 
ing lights  of  the  olden  time  has  gone  out.  May 
your  mistress  be  happy  wherever  she  goes.      I  know 


1 86  Diomed 

she  will  be  beloved.  But  never  flourished  country- 
seat  under  sovereign's  rule  better  than  did  Pam- 
patike  under  the  gentle  sway  of  its  charming 
mistress. 

Yet  a  few  vears  more,  and  not  a  single  light  of 
the  olden  day  will  glimmer  in  Virginia  ;  for  the  old 
folks,  with  no  one  to  replace  them,  are  fast  tailing 
to  sleep. 

There  were  no  kennels  at  Pampatike.  How 
I  loathe  kennels  !  The  finest  kennel  on  earth  is 
but  a  gilded  dog-prison.  We  had  good  bedding  in 
an  old  outhouse  ;  but  I  soon  stole  away  from  that, 
and  sought  a  place  upon  a  door-mat  on  the  rear 
portico.  The  low  windows  of  the  dining-room 
opened  upon  the  veranda,  and  I  could,  by  placing 
my  forepaws  on  the  window-sills,  peep  through  the 
shutters  and  see  all  that  was  going  on  within. 
What  a  scene  it  was !  The  family  and  guests 
were  at  supper.  The  great  table  was  laden  with 
smoking  viands,  and  sparkled  with  china  and  glass. 
The  colonel's  back  was  towards  me.  The  happy 
faces  of  the  family  and  guests  and  schoolboys  were 
ranged  on  either  side  of  the  long  table.  At  its 
further  end,  behind  a  silver  tea-service  that  had  no 
doubt  belonged  to  the  Carter  family  for  a  century 
or  more,  appeared  the  hospitable,  happy  face  of  our 
hostess.  Flitting  about  the  table  were  several  ser- 
vants, bearing  all  that  hungry  hunters  could  wish. 
It  made  me  so  keen  for  food  that  I  stood  there 
dancing,  first  on  one  foot,  and  then  on  the  other, 
praying  for  my  time  to  come. 

Meanwhile  I  was  not  alone.  As  is  customary 
when    distinguished   strangers    arrive   at  a  country- 


D 


lomec 


187 


place,  the  servants  had  collected  on  the  rear  portico 
to  peep  through  the  blinds  at  the  guests,  and  criti- 
cise them.  Their  comments  were  very  amusing. 
Master  came  in  for  his  full  share  of  observation, 
along  with  the  others.  His  appearance,  as  he  sat 
there,  with  his  broad  shoulders,  round  head,  and 
smooth-shaved  tace,  laughing  and  eating  very  heart- 


"  Mr.  Jacky,    is  dat  yo'    pa,   sure  'nufr" 

ily,  seemed  to  make  a  great  impression  upon  the 
servants.  About  this  time  our  little  Jacky  came 
running  bv,  tor  sev^eral  of  the  smaller  bovs  had  been 
required  to  await  the  second  table.  Lizzie,  a  halt- 
grown  Topsy  ot  a  girl,  who  had  been  w^atching,  with 
popping  eves,  turned  to  him,  eagerlv  exclaiming, 
"Mr.  Jackv,  is  dat  vo'  pa,  sure  'nuf?"  Assured 
of  the  tact  bv  Jack,  she  exclaimed  enthusiastically, 
"Well,  sir,  I  tell  \ou  he's  a  puffick  beautv  !  " 

At  this   I   gave  a  yelp,  and  jumped  down   from 


1 88  Diomed 

the  window-sill.  The  poor  thing  thought  she  had 
trod  on  me,  and  patted  me,  saving,  "  I  ax  vour 
pawdon,  Di."  Truth  is  she  had  not  touched  me. 
My  yelp  was  dog  laughter  at  the  idea  ot  anybody 
calling  my  master  a  perfect  beauty.  1  had  heard 
him  called  everything  but  that,  and  that  amused  me 
intensely. 

I  found  every  boy  on  the  place  knew  every 
accomplishment  I  possessed.  Our  boys  had  talked 
to  the  other  boys  about  Di  until  great  things  were 
expected  of  me.  It  is  pretty  hard  work  to  run 
thirty  or  forty  miles  hunting  in  the  daytime,  and 
then  perform  as  a  trick-dog  at  night.  But  I  felt 
that  our  family  reputation  was  at  stake,  and  when 
taken  into  the  house  after  supper,  went  through  it 
all  as  well  as  I  could.  The  boys,  from  "  Winky  " 
Watts,  to  "  Fatty "  Foster,  declared  that  I  was  a 
wonderful  dog ;  and  all  the  old  Carters  hanging 
on  the  walls  seemed  to  blink  down  approvingly 
upon   our  merriment. 

At  bedtime  I  was  summoned  by  a  low  whistle 
from  the  house  calling  me  from  the  shed  where 
I  was  asleep.  Master  sneaked  me  quietly  into  the 
room  assigned  to  him  and  Mr.  Tracy.  His  shoot- 
ing-coat was  soon  spread  over  a  tanned  sheepskin 
by  the  blazing  wood  fire,  as  a  resting-place  tor  me. 
When  the  candles  were  extinguished,  and  the  fire- 
light danced  on  the  muslin  curtains,  or  glinted  on 
the  crockery,  and  the  gilt  trimmings  of  the  high 
old  tester  bed,  it  did  seem  to  me  that  nothing  in  this 
world  was  lacking  to  make  our  party  comfortable. 

"  Lucky  fellow !  "  said  Tracy,  as  he  drew  the  bed- 
clothes under  his  chin.     "  To  have  your  boys  grow 


Diomeci  189 

up  in  such  a  place,  tree  troni  the  tlirt\'  contamina- 
tion ot  the  citv,  and  under  the  refininn;  influences 
of  a  family  like  this.  Blessed  man  !  That  lady's 
face  will  be  a  beacon  lifrht  to  them  throuo;h  life, 
bidding  them,  bv  the  memory  ot  her,  to  love  purity 
and  refinement  as  lono;  as  they  liye." 

We  had  a  mem!)rable  hunt  at  Pampatike  next 
day,  I  call  it  a  hunt  out  ot  courtesy,  but  it  was 
more  like  a  riot,  rout,  and  unlawful  assembly.  The 
boys  had  two  dogs,  Dude  and  Birdo.  The  first- 
named  was  a  very  blood-like  pointer;  the  second 
was  a  nondescript  setter.  Dude  had  in  him  the 
making  ot  a  most  excellent  dog.  Both  of  them 
knew  just  where  to  hunt  tor  every  covey  within  five 
miles  ;  and  while  neither  of  them  was  half  broken, 
both  were  exceedingly  ambitious.  We  were  to  part 
with  the  boys  at  midday,  on  our  homeward  journey; 
and  as  they  were  to  return  to  Pampatike  without  us 
and  would  need  their  dogs,  we  started  out  that 
morning  with  six  gunners  and  four  dogs.  Nothing 
could  exceed  the  hospitable  farewell  given  us  by 
the  Carters.  The  colonel  accompanied  us  astride 
Langtry,  until  we  had  located  several  bevies  ;  and 
then,  apologizing  for  leaving  us  on  the  score  of 
engagements  elsewhere,  he  galloped  away,  with 
torm  erect  and  firm  seat,  just  as  he  had  done,  no 
doubt,  in  days  gone  by,  when  he  led  that  battery 
into  action. 

The  school-teacher  was  an  excellent  shot.  Accus- 
tomed to  shooting  with  the  boys,  he  was  in  the  fore- 
front of  the  fusillade,  and  made  a  better  bag  than 
any  of  the  gentlemen.  Master  also  was  willing  to 
risk  it  with  the  boys;  but  Mr.  Tracy  and  the  New 


190  Diomed 

York  gentleman  held  back  cautiously,  remarking, 
"that  the  fun  was  not  sufficient  to  justify  the  danger 
of  shooting  in  such  a  crowd."  xA.s  for  myself  and 
Eva,  we  were  thoroughly  "rattled."  Old  Birdo 
was  a  jealous  fellow.  When  we  pointed,  he  paid 
no  attention  to  us  whatever  until  he  had  gained 
a  position  in  advance  of  us.  Back-standing  had 
evidently  been  no  part  of  his  education.  As  a 
result,  half  the  birds  we  found  were  put  up  by 
him  before  the  shooters  were  in  position  ;  and 
from  the  standpoint  of  real  sportsmanship,  the  day 
was  a  failure.  But  any  man  or  dog  who  would  let 
these  little  annoyances  blind  him  to  the  enjoyment 
of  that  day  by  those  boys,  was  but  a  surly  fellow. 

Our  conveyance  had  driven  back  to  the  ferry  from 
the  house,  and,  moving  up  the  farther  bank  of  the 
river  to  a  point  opposite  to  us,  was  awaiting  us 
there,  where,  by  crossing  in  a  small  boat,  we  could 
join  it  and  save  several  miles'  riding  on  our  return 
home.  Mrs.  Carter  had  sent  a  glorious  luncheon 
by  two  schoolboys  who  rode  down  in  our  wagon, 
intending  to  return  with  their  companions.  They 
brought  the  luncheon  across  the  river  and  spread  it 
near  the  bank  of  the  stream,  under  a  wide-spreading 
oak.  Here  we  rested  at  midday,  and  here  we 
parted  with  our  boys,  leaving  them  with  happy  faces 
and  well-filled  pockets.  When  we  last  saw  them, 
Birdo,  Dude,  and  half  a  dozen  youngsters  were 
making  it  very  uncomfortable  for  a  rabbit,  which 
they  had  started  while  we  were  crossing  the  stream. 

That  afternoon  we  had  some  excellent  sport  on 
the  Pamunky  flats,  and  shooting  until  after  sun- 
down, we  reached  home  late  in  the  night. 


Diomed 


T91 


"  My  dear  boy,"  said  Inicv  as  we  rode  home  in 
the  darkness,  "this  is  all  \cry  charming.  But  you 
know  that  picture  is  not  \ct  begun.  Two  whole 
days  of  our  week  are  gone." 

"  To-morrow  we  begin,"  said  master,  "  and  I  am 
as  anxious  as  you  can  be,  to  see  the  name  of  J.  M. 
Tracy  in  the  corner  of  a  picture  called  '  November 
on  the  James.'  " 

In  the  next  chapter  you  shall  hear  and  see  how 
shooting-pictures  are  built,  from  their  beginning  to 
their  completion. 


Chapter   XII 

(1887) 
How   Pictures   representing   Field   Sports  are  made 


m 


■4eji«  .-"7^  :-.-_ 


7,1    t    .-^--'^    — 


'4^ 
^ 


^*:*'  " 


•4* 


^^''^^Shli^t^.HE   next  day  tound  our  whole  part\'  at 

our  favorite  shooting-ground,  Snowden. 

The  character  of  the   painting  which   was   to  be 

made  by   Mr.  Tracy  had  been  fully  discussed   and 

determined. 

While  he  had  greatly  enjoyed  the  visit  to  Pam- 
patike,  the  scenery  thereabouts  was  such  that  little 
inducement  was  offered  for  an  attractive  picture. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  was  enthusiastic  over  the 
valley  ot  the  James  with  its  variety  of  hills  and 
lowlands  and  the    handsome    river ;    and   the   name 

192 


Dioiiied  79'? 

selected  for  the  coming  sketch  w;is  "  November  on 
the  James."  Since  that  time  the  picture  has  been 
lithographed  and  engraved  until  it  is  one  ot  his 
well-known   productions. 

Dickv^  Don,  the  black  and  tan  puppy  I  described 
as  so  friendly  on  my  first  visit  to  Snowden  in  1884, 
was,  by  this  time,  a  handsome,  well-developed,  and 
thoroughly  trained  dog.  He  was  but  a  year  my 
junior,  with  the  advantage  over  me  ot  constant 
residence  in  the  country  ;  and  steady  work  during 
the  seasons  of  1885  and  1886  had  made  him  one 
of  the  best  field  dogs  I  ever  hunted  with.  He  was 
the  dearest  dog  friend  I  ever  had.  We  hunted 
together  so  much  and  for  so  long  a  period  that  w^e 
understood  each  other  thoroughly,  and  our  intimacy 
and  attachment  never  had  a  jar  of  any  kind.  When, 
last  fall,  master  brought  me  the  intelligence  that 
Dicky  Don  was  dead  after  eight  years  ot  faithful 
service,  it  made  me  feel  that  death's  shaft  had 
indeed  struck  nearer  to  me  than  ever  before.  Pon- 
dering upon  my  own  age  and  weakness,  I  realize 
that  it  is  but  a  little  while  before  the  hour  of  my 
own  departure  will  arrive. 

Nothing  was  further  from  our  minds  than  thoughts 
of  death  or  even  ot  old  age  when  our  party  set  forth 
that  bright  November  morning  upon  its  search 
for  game  and  landscape.  The  gentlemen  were  all 
mounted.  The  attendant  carried  an  easel  and  paint- 
box besides  the  usual  equipment.  Mr.  Tracy  w^as 
provided  vyith  a  camera  besides  his  gun  and  ammu- 
nition. Our  time  was  divided  between  shooting 
and  selecting  the  background  and  the  poses  tor 
our  coming  picture. 


wmm 


Diomed  195 

In  spite  of  the  general  desire  to  begin  work  on 
the  picture,  Dick  and  1  gave  our  friends  a  good 
warming  up  at  sport,  for  the  birds  were  out  that 
morning,  and  we  tound  them  within  a  tew  hundred 
yards  ot  where  the  sketch  was  made. 

After  an  hour's  shooting  we  reached  a  point  which 
gave  the  artist,  as  he  declared,  an  ideal  background 
tor  his  work.  It  was  on  the  slope  of  a  hill  which 
bounds  the  valley.  From  this  slope,  looking  north- 
westwardly, the  lowlands,  the  river,  and  picturesque 
Cartersville  were  all  in  sight.  Here  Mr.  Tracy 
made  the  photograph  I   now  insert. 

The  servant  was  relieved  of  the  easel  and  paint- 
box ;  Mr.  Tracy  proceeded  to  dispose  of  himself 
and  his  belongings  for  the  sketch;  and  after  bidding 
him  good  luck,  we  lett  him  painting  from  nature  the 
same  scene  that  he  had  photographed.  We  spent 
several  hours  shooting  in  the  low  grounds.  It  must 
have  been  tantalizing  to  Mr.  Tracv  to  hear  the  guns 
and  see  the  men  and  dogs,  as  he  worked  away  on 
the  hillside;  for  we  were  in  sight  ot  him  the  greater 
part  of  the  time  we  were  absent.  We  had  good 
shooting.  Absorbed  as  he  now  was,  our  move- 
ments seemed  to  possess  very  little  attraction  tor  him. 

When  we  returned  we  found  he  had  worked 
rapidly  and  successfully,  and  the  following  is  the 
sketch  he  made  for  the  background  ot  his  picture. 

This  sketch  which  awaited  our  return  may  prove 
of  interest  to  the  reader,  who  can  compare  two  im- 
pressions made  simultaneously,  one  on  the  camera, 
the  other  on  the  eye  of  the  artist ;  especially  as  the 
sketch  was  made  by  Mr.  Tracy  before  he  developed 
the  negative  in  his  camera. 


Diomed 


197 


After  he  finished  the  painting  he  presented  the 
sketch  to  mv  master  as  a  memento,  and  it  to-day 
hangs  in  master's  drawing-room  just  under  an  oil 
painting  of  myself 

The  following  sketch,  made  bv  master,  is  a  sort 
of  caricature  ot  the  scene  when  we  returned  and 
were  waiting  for  the  artist  to  complete  his  work 
upon  his    backcrround. 


y:\'^':ij^'  - 


Tracy  Sketching. 

Work  upon  the  sketch  completed,  Mr.  Tracy 
announced  that  his  next  object  was  to  secure  a  pretty 
grouping;  of  figures  for  the  foreground. 

"Aha^!"  tl-Tought  Dick  and  Nellie  and  I.  "Now 
it  Q;rows  interesting; !  Side  by  side  with  pictures  of 
our  masters  we  will  2;o  down  to  tuture  generations 
on  Tracy's  canvas." 

Resuming  their  horses,  the  men  followed  us 
through  several  fields,  until  at  last  Mr.  Iracy 
found  a  place  which  he  announced  as  suitable.  It 
was  at  the  head  ot  a  little  swale  where  briars,  min- 


198  Diomed 

gled  with  deer-berries,  made  a  smokv-looking  mass, 
crowned  with  a  pinkish  hue  ;  and  one  or  two  small 
cedars  added  the  color  which  is  so  lacking  at  this 
season.  These  seemed  to  catch  the  artist's  eve, 
and  we  were  directed  to  dispose  ourselves  tor  the 
photograph. 

Much  that  was  done  was  unintelligible  to  me. 
I  heard  a  good  deal  I  did  not  comprehend, 
about  making  the  work  picturesque  by  represent- 
ing the  sportsmen  with  old-fashioned  muzzle-load- 
ing guns,  and  painting  shot-pouches,  powder-flasks, 
etc.  Those  things  had  all  disappeared  before  mv 
dav.  Nor  did  1  understand  why  Mr.  Tracv  sought 
so  much  information  from  master  and  Mr.  Selden 
about  a  breed  of  pointers  used  bv  the  Virginia 
sportsmen  of  past  generations,  —  a  breed  said  to 
have  been  verv  tough  and  enduring  and  now  almost 
or  quite  extinct.  I  thought,  all  the  while,  that  the 
object  ot  all  the  Gentlemen  was  to  make  an  up-to- 
date  picture,  and  never  doubted  that,  when  finished, 
all  of  us,  men  and  dogs,  just  as  we  were,  w'ould 
appear  in  the  picture. 

When  it  came  to  the  taking  of  the  photograph 
now  called  for,  the  subordinate  position  assigned  in 
the  grouping  to  mv  master  and  mvself  did  not  at 
all  satisfy  mv  expectations.  He  was  far  in  the  back- 
ground, actuallv  holding  the  horses,  and,  at  the 
moment  when  Mr.  Tracv  snapped  the  instrument, 
Nellie  and  I  were  behind  the  New  York  gentleman. 
"  However,"  thought  I,  "  I  am  onlv  a  dog.  Al- 
though posted  in  other  things,  I  am  not  an  artist. 
These  men  know  their  business  better  than  I  do  ; 
and,  no  doubt,  it  will  be  all  right  in  the  end." 


Diomed  199 

The  New  York  gentleman  was  provided  with  a 
nuillen  stalk  to  simulate  a  ramrod  ;  Mr.  SeKlen 
stooped  o\'er,  as  if  taking  up  a  dead  bird  from  Dick  ; 
master  sat  on  one  horse,  holding  the  otlier  horses, 
in  a  group  ;  there  was  some  manoeuvring  tor  posi- 
tion ;  and  before  I  was  aware  that  the  moment  had 
arrived,  or  could  take  any  pains  to  assume  an  attrac- 
tive attitude,  as  I  fullv  intended  to  do,  "  click  "  went 
the  camera,  and  it  was  announced  that  nothing  more 
was  necessary. 

Mr.  Tracv  left  us  then,  saying  he  would  return 
to  the  house,  cievelop  his  negatives,  and  make  some 
prints  to  see  if  he  had  succeeded  in  getting  what  he 
wanted. 

That  evening  when  we  went  home  he  showed  us 
the  picture  on  the  following  page. 

I  saw  it  with  a  keen  sense  of  disappointment. 
Nellie  and  I  were  almost  out  ot  sight,  and  master 
a  mere  speck  in  the  distance,  while  Dicky  Don,  Mr. 
Selden,  and  the  New  York  gentleman  were  the 
prominent  objects.  "  Why,"  argued  I,  "  should  my 
master,  who  is  Mr.  Tracy's  friend,  and  who  brought 
him  here;  and  I,  his  dog,  both  of  us  recognized  as 
first-class  sportsmen,  —  why,  I  repeat,  should  we  be 
crowded  out  of  this  picture  by  anybody.^  It  is  all 
right  for  Mr.  Selden  and  you,  Dicky,  to  be  in  the 
foreground  ;  but  you  know  Nellie  is  not  of  our  class, 
and  you  know  that  young  New  York  chap  is  not  a 
real  sportsman.  Now  what  on  earth  is  he  doing  in 
the  front  of  that  picture,  with  master  and  myselt 
nearly  crowded  out  altogether  ^  Answer  me  that, 
Dick  !  "  said  I,  in  a  grumbling,  dissatisfied  mood, 
that  night,  when  we  were  curled  up  in  our  box. 


Diomed  201 

Dick  was  in  it,  as  he  thought,  all  right.  So  was 
his  master.  And,  like  most  people,  who  are  philo- 
sophical when  thev  have  all  thev  want,  and  think 
that  those  who  have  not  should  be  equally  so,  he 
replied  that  he  had  no  doubt  we  would  all  be  satis- 
fied when  the  picture  was  finished  ;  that  whether  we 
were  or  not,  we  could  not  control  the  matter  ;  and 
that  the  best  thing  to  do  was  to  stop  worrying  about 
it,  and  go  to  sleep,  for  we  had  hard  work  ahead  of 
us  to-morrow. 

I  thought  that,  of  course,  the  painting  would  go 
right  ahead  now,  and  that  we  would  enjoy  seeing 
Mr.  Tracv  compose  and  execute  his  piece  ;  but  in 
this  also  we  were  disappointed.  He  announced  that 
it  was  his  invariable  custom,  after  having  collected 
the  material  for  a  composition,  to  lay  it  aside  for  a 
little  while,  so  that  when  he  took  the  subject  up  for 
completion,  his  mind  would  be  fresh,  and  freed  troni 
the  possible  errors  of  first  impressions,  or,  at  least, 
with  time  to  consider. 

During  the  remainder  of  his  stay  the  onlv  painting 
he  did,  was  of  the  character  of  the  grasses  ;  to  pre- 
serve notes  of  the  colors  of  the  foliage  and  the 
trees  ;  and  he  made  a  careful  study  of  standing  corn- 
stalks, which  he  reproduced  in  the  picture  as  finally 
completed. 

A  month  or  two  after  this  he  sent  us  an  artist's 
proof  of  the  completed  picture.      Here  it  is. 

The  picture  possesses  very  little  interest  for  me. 
I  was  prepared  for  a  disappointment.  I  do  think  it 
was  an  indignity  put  upon  mv  master  to  paint  him 
as  a  negro  holding  horses ;  and  the  New  York 
gentleman  is  not  recognizable  in  the  common  look- 


Dionied  203 

ing  boy  who  is  getting  a  charge  of  powder  tor  that 
muzzle-loader.  The  likeness  ot  Mr.  Selden  is,  as 
you  may  see,  fairly  well  preserved.  As  for  the  dogs, 
I  felt  sincere  sympathy  tor  Dick.  I  expected  no 
better;  but,  with  all  his  philosophical  advice  to  me, 
he  most  assuredly  did  expect  to  figure  in  that  picture, 
and  was  cut  to  the  quick  when  he  saw,  in  the  place  he 
expected  to  occupy,  a  pointer  of  the  type  ot  long  ago, 
the  like  ot  which  neither  he  nor  I  have  ever  seen  in 
all  our  experiences.  I  will  make  the  best  amends  I 
can  for  this  disappointment  ot  my  dear  departed 
friend,  by  closing  this  chapter  with  his  picture  ;  and 
I  leave  it  to  you  to  decide,  dear  reader,  whether  he 
was  not  a  handsome  tellow,  worthy  ot  a  place  in  the 
picture  to  which  he  had  contributed  so  much. 

The  thing  that  surprised  me  most  was  that  both 
master  and  Mr.  Selden  were  delighted  with  Tracy's 
"  November  on  the  James,"  and  appeared  to  suffer 
no  sort  ot  chagrin  that  it  did  not  represent  either 
themselves  or  their  dogs,  but  was  what  men  call  an 
ideal  sketch.  A  dog  considers  an  ideal  thing  as 
nothing,  for  he  is  eminently  practical, 

1  have  heard  that  it  had  an  immense  sale,  which  I 
hope  is  true;  tor,  notwithstanding  the  result  of  Mr. 
Tracy's  visit  was  so  different  from  what  I  antici- 
pated, I  remember  him  with  great  affection. 

1  am  writing  this  within  eight  years  after  the  oc- 
currence ot  the  events  chronicled.  Within  that  time, 
by  some  strange  tatality,  every  man,  horse,  and  dog 
in  those  photographs,  but  my  master  and  myselt,  is 
dead  ;  tor  the  news  has  come  but  recently  that  the 
great  kind  heart  of  the  master  of  Snowden  has  ceased 
to  beat. 


204 


Diomed 


Pardon  me,  dear  reader,  for  concluding  this  chap- 
ter with  these  sad  reflections  of  a  soHtary  old  age. 
I  began  this  narrative  to  amuse  and  to  divert  you, 
and  have  no  right  to  intrude  them  upon  you. 

Let  us  laugh  together  once  more,  for  well  do  I 
remember  those  lines,  "  Laugh,  and  the  world  laughs 
with  us  ;  weep,  and  we  weep  alone." 


■^, 


Ditkv   Don. 


Chapter   XIII 

(1888) 

Superstitions  —  In   North   Carolina  —  A   Df)Q;-show 
—  A   Fox-hunt  —  And  a  Sad  Change" 


BELIEVE  that  every  hunter  in  this  world, 
biped  or  quadruped,  has  certain  super- 
stitions. For  myself,  I  frankly  confess  that  I  have 
them,  and  offer  no  reasons,  arguments,  explanations, 
or  apologies  therefor,  I  simply  have  them,  and  that 
is  all  there  is  ot  it.  I  cannot  help  regarding  the 
number  thirteen  as  an  unlucky  number;  and,  like 
many  another  hunter,  I  entertain  the  prejudice  of 
our  craft  against  setting  out  upon  any  enterprise  on 
a  Friday. 

With  these  notions  firmly  embecided  in  my  mind, 
I  discovered  that,  unawares,  I  had  be2;un  to  write 
this  thirteenth  chapter  on  I^'riday  the  thirteenth  day 
of  the  month,  in  this  the  thirteenth  year  of  my  life. 
When   I   realized   this  extraordinary  conjuncture  of 

205 


2c6  Diomed 

unlucky  days,  years,  and  numbers,  it  made  me  very 
uncomfortable  tor  a  time. 

While  under  the  influence  of  the  depression  re- 
sulting from  this  discovery,  I  met  with  my  old 
friend  Cassandra,  a  vagrant  hound  that  hangs  about 
our  village,  and  is  suspected  of  dealing  in  mysteries, 
by  the  young  dogs  of  the  place,  I  have  always  telt 
sympathy  and  kindness  tor  "Cassv,"  as  she  is  called, 
she  seemed  so  friendless ;  and  I  have  always  be- 
lieved that  the  suspicions  referred  to  sprung  trom 
her  being  compelled  to  prowl  around  at  night  tor 
food,  because  she  has  no  owner,  rather  than  from 
any  real  foundation.  Be  this  as  it  may,  however, 
I  could  not  resist  talking  to  her  about  what  was 
on  my   mind  when  we   met. 

Cassv  was  not  a  cheerful  companion  at  her  best, 
and  when  I  told  her  the  things  that  were  troubling 
me,  she  sat  down  upon  her  haunches,  litted  her 
head  with  its  bloodshot  eyes,  and  gave  a  dismal 
howl,  which  intensified  the  wretchedness  ot  my  feel- 
ings. "  You  haye  been  too  ambitious,"  said  she ; 
"  you  have  offended  Wooglin,  the  good  spirit  ot 
dogs.  You  haye  aspired  to  be  the  equal  ot  men, 
and  incurred  the  wrath  of  the  dog  gods.  What  else 
could  a  dog  who  attempts  to  write  a  book  expect  ? 
Remain  here  awhile,  and  I  will  tetch  you  something 
that  may  break  the  eyil  spell."  And  otf  she  went, 
with  a  lightness  of  which  I  did  not  think  her  capa- 
ble. Grateful  for  the  promptness  of  her  sympathy, 
I  endeavored,  during  Cassandra's  absence,  to  con- 
sole myself  by  pooh-poohing  ignorant  superstitions, 
and  by  philosophically  reflecting  that  at  my  age  a 
dog  has  very  little  to  lose,  even  if  the  worst  hap- 


Dionied  207 

pens  to  him.  But  we  all  know  that  philosophy  and 
reflection,  however  calm  and  correct  they  may  be, 
do  not  relieve  the  misery  of  ignorant  prejudices, 
any  more  than  they  stop  toothache  ;  and  I  was  glad 
enough  to  see  old  Cassy  come  trotting  back  with 
something  in  her  mouth. 

"  Here  is  the  foot  of  a  rabbit  which  was  caught 
by  a  cross-eyed  nigger  in  a  graveyard  on  a  cloudy 
nioht,"  said  she.  "You  know  what  power  for  good 
is  attributed  to  it.  It  was  given  to  me  years  ago 
and  has  protected  me  from  many  dangers.  I  ought 
not  to  part  with  it ;  but  I  like  you,  Di,  and  you  are 
in  need  of  the  most  powerful  counter-charm  that 
can  be  secured.  It  is  very  hard  and  very  dry,  and 
your  poor  old  teeth  are  not  in  good  condition  to 
masticate  it;  but  you  must  chew  it  and  swallow  it. 
Its  mere  possession  is  not  enough.  In  a  serious 
case  like  yours  the  charm  must  be  incorporated  into 
your  system  in  oreier  to  become  effectual  as  an  anti- 
dote. Having  eaten  it  and  averted  the  threatened 
danger,  you  must  abstain,  henceforth,  from  writing 
books ;  for  no  charm,  however  powerful,  can  protect 
a  dog  author  from  the  wrath  of  ciog  gods,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  prejudices  of  men."  "  But  what 
will  become  of  you,  Cassy,  if  you  part  with  your 
charm?"  said  I,  protesting;  for  in  my  heart  I 
doubted  its  eflicacy,  and  was  by  no  means  resolved 
to  abandon  my  book.  "  Oh  !  It  doesn't  matter 
about  me,"  she  said,  with  a  sigh.  "I  could  not  be 
more  deserted  or  forlorn  than  I  have  been  tor  a 
long  time.  It  is  but  a  little  while  until  I  shall  need 
no  charm.  Now  do  not  refuse  me.  Chew  and 
swallow  the  rabbit  foot  in  my   presence." 


2o8  Diomed 

And  I  did  so.  There  I  sat  mumbling  and  gnaw- 
ing away  at  it  until  it  gradually  softened,  broke  into 
fragments,  and,  after  a  long  process  of  mastication, 
was  bolted,  hair,  bones,  toe-nails,  and  all. 

Cassy  evidently  regarded  the  proceeding  as  a  seri- 
ous business.  While  I  crunched  away  on  the  rab- 
bit foot,  she  sat  with  eyes  turned  upwards  towards 
Sirius,  the  dog-star,  uttering  some  sort  ot  whimper- 
ing incantation,  and,  when  she  saw  me  make  the 
last  gulp  as  I  swallowed  it,  she  sprang  to  her  feet 
with  a  glad  yelp,  said  that  all  omens  were  pro- 
pitious, expressed  confidence  that  the  impending 
evils  had  been  averted ;  and  then,  imploring  me 
not  to  tempt  bad  luck  again,  she  bade  me  adieu. 
Odd  as  the  coincidence  may  seem,  I  never  saw 
Cassy  again. 

Within  a  week  after  this  interview  she  was  killed 
by  a  falling  tree  in  a  midnight  coon  hunt. 

A  day  or  two  alter  the  rabbit-toot  episode,  a 
Captain  Rogers,  an  old  friend  of  my  master,  visited 
the  house  where  I  am  now  living,  and,  recognizing 
me,  fastened  a  little  stone,  called  a  "  Fairy  Stone,"  to 
the  ring  of  my  collar.  He  said  it  possessed  all 
sorts  of  virtues,  such  as  prolonging  lite,  renewing 
youth,  averting  accidents,  and  what  not.  It  was  odd 
that  he  should  have  done  this  thing  at  that  time, 
for  of  course  he  knew  nothing  of  my  superstitions. 

Well  !  Whatever  the  dangers  of  ill-luck  may 
have  been,  and  whatever  may  have  been  the  merits, 
demerits,  or  lack  of  merit,  ot  rabbit  foot  or  Fairy 
Stone,  it  is  certain  that  since  the  time  named  I  have 
felt  in  better  health  and  better  spirits,  and  am  now 
prepared,  regardless  ot  ill-omen  or  counter-charm. 


Diomed  209 

to  proceed  with  this  hook,  he  the  consequences  what 
they  may. 

I  look  back  to  the  year  of  1888  as  in  many  re- 
spects the  most  eventful  ot  my  lite.  It  opened  fair 
and  promising.  It  was  filled  with  novelty  and  pleas- 
ant excitements  ;  and  its  close  was  marked  with  a 
change  in  our  family  arrangements,  which,  however 
advantageous  it  may  have  been  to  master,  was  not 
so  to  me.  1  always  look  back  to  that  year  as  the 
high-water  mark  of  my  happiness.  Since  then  my 
life  has  seemed  to  be  on  the  decline. 

In  January  of  1888,  the  quail  season  having 
ended  in  Virginia,  we  prolonged  our  quail-shooting 
by  a  trip  to  King's  Mountain,  in  North  Carolina. 
Our  party  consisted  of  Mr.  Selden  with  Dicky 
Don,  several  gentlemen  who  lived  in  Richmond, 
master,  myself,  and  Amine.  As  on  former  occa- 
sions, we  had  a  private  car.  Upon  arriving  at 
King's  Mountain,  this  was  side-tracked,  and  we 
made  our  daily  excursions  in  shooting-wagons.  The 
quails  were  very  plentiful.  I  observed,  however, 
that  even  at  this  place  they  are  perceptibly  smaller 
than  the  birds  found  in  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia. 
As  one  goes  south  the  decrease  in  size  of  the  quail 
is  plainly  observable.  A  year  or  two  later  I  hunted 
in  Florida,  and  there  found  them  smaller  than  those 
in  North  and  South  Carolina.  So,  in  Louisiana 
they  are  smaller  still ;  and,  when,  at  last,  I  hunted 
in  southwestern  Texas  and  along  the  Mexican 
border  on  the  Rio  Grande,  the  birds,  although  more 
plentiful  than  anywhere  I  had  ever  been  before,  were 
smaller,  and  their  plumage  was  less  distinctly  marked, 
than  any  I  had  previously  seen.      There  is  no  doubt 


•9    2: 

5^  ■^■ 


n      2: 

E      2 


Diomed  2ii 

of  the  identity  of  the  bird  with  those  found,  for  ex- 
ample, in  Bucks  County,  Pennsylvania;  but  the  Texas 
bird  does  not  compare  with  the  Pennsylvania  bird  in 
size,  brilliancy  and  distinctness  of  markings,  or  in 
strength  or  length  of  flight.  The  North  Carolina 
birds  we  were  now  shooting  were  just  about  midway 
in  these  characteristics  between  the  extremes  of  Texas 
and  Pennsylvania. 

King's  Mountain  is  located  near  the  dividing  line 
between  North  and  South  Carolina,  and  our  hunting 
was  done  partly  in  one  State  and  partly  in  the  other. 
Master  and  his  companions  seemed  much  interested 
in  the  King's  Mountain.  It  was  a  small  afi"air  as  a 
mountain,  and  its  top  was  flat.  I  heard  them  telling 
how,  a  hundred  years  ago,  the  troops  of  some  king 
had  been  encamped  upon  the  summit,  and  were 
attacked  and  defeated  by  the  Americans  ;  but  this  is 
nothing  like  as  interesting  to  me  as  to  them.  My 
chief  diversion  was  found  in  the  abundance  of  quail 
in  the  valleys  and  toot-hills  about  the  mountain;  the 
excellent  supply  of  water ;  and  the  people  we  met. 
One  of  the  residents  of  King's  Mountain  accom- 
panied us  with  his  dog  Bill,  who  put  both  Dicky 
Don  and  myself  to  shame.  Good  dog  as  was  Dicky 
Don  at  home,  he  always  gave  back  sadly  on  these 
distant  expeditions.  Travel  did  not  agree  with  him; 
and  strange  scenes  and  faces  always  seemed  to  upset 
him  and  destroy  his  energy  and  confidence. 

Bill  was  a  pointer.  He  knew  his  ground  well, 
and,  for  the  first  day  or  two,  had  us  sadly  at  a  dis- 
advantage. All  the  gunners  recognized  his  superi- 
ority, and  his  master  was  very  proud  of  the  way  in 
which  Bill  cut  out  the  work  for  us  Virginia  dogs. 


212  Diomed 

I  soon  discovered  that  shooting  quail  was  com- 
paratively a  rare  sport  in  this  section.  Nearly  all 
those  captured  are  taken  in  nets.  A  party  of  horse- 
men will  go  forth  with  dogs  and  nets.  When  the 
dogs  have  located  the  birds,  the  men  spread  the  nets 
at  a  little  distance  from  where  the  dogs  are  pointing, 
and,  calling  the  dogs  off,  the  men  on  horseback  pro- 
ceed to  drive  the  birds,  which  seldom  fly  before  per- 
sons who  are  mounted.  The  nets  have  two  long 
wings  which  are  set,  converging  towards  a  cylindrical 
mesh.  The  birds  pass  along  these  wings  until  they 
come  to  a  barrel-shaped  pocket,  and  into  this  the 
whole  covey  runs.  Then  one  of  the  party  ot 
hunters  dismounts,  hastens  to  the  mouth  of  the 
pocket  and  closes  it,  and  the  entire  covey  is  thus 
entrapped.  Ordinarily  the  netters  release  one  or 
two  pairs  of  birds  for  breeding  purposes,  and  then 
wring  the  necks  of  the  others,  place  them  in  a  bag, 
and,  when  thev  have  in  this  way  secured  sufficient 
birds,  they  ship  them  to  northern  markets. 

Those  who  engage  in  this  slaughter  make  no  pre- 
tense of  being  sportsmen.  They  confess  them- 
selves to  be  mere  pot-hunters,  and  dislike  gunners, 
because  shooting  at  birds  makes  them  much  less 
gentle,  and  more  inclined  to  fly,  instead  of  running 
along  upon  the  ground  as  the  netters  desire,  when 
dogs  point  them. 

In  the  course  of  our  shooting  hereabouts  we  came 
upon  several  of  these  netting-parties,  who  seemed 
unconscious  of  the  contempt  in  which  we  held  them ; 
and  who,  in  turn,  could  not  understand  why  we  were 
content  to  put  up  the  birds  and  go  to  the  expense 
and  trouble  of  shooting  them  one  by  one,  when,  by 


214  Diomed 

their  method,  we  could  obtain  the  whole  covey 
cheaper  and  with  less  trouble.  So  rare  was  the 
gunner  in  these  parts,  that  one  day  two  very  respect- 
able and  intelligent  farmers,  aged  probably  thirty  to 
thirty-five  years,  accompanied  our  party  tor  several 
hours  to  see  men  shoot  quail.  They  told  us  that 
although  they  had  lived  there  all  their  lives  and  had 
seen  quail  netted  every  season,  they  had  never  be- 
fore witnessed  the  sport  of  shooting  them.  Another 
day,  it  being  Saturday,  we  were  followed  by  a  party 


Netting   in    North   Carolina. 

of  ten  or  twelve  boys,  ranging  in  age  from  six  to 
sixteen,  who  watched  quail-shooting  with  the  keenest 
interest  and  liveliest  curiosity,  as  a  great  novelty. 

One  little  bit  of  fun  I  must  not  omit  to  narrate. 
One  of  our  party  was  a  Mr.  Boulware.  He  was 
a  keen  and  ambitious  sportsman  and  fairly  good 
shot,  but  rather  out  of  practice.  This  was  the  first 
opportunity  he   had   had  for  sport  for  some   time. 


Diomed  2  i  5 

He  had  no  shooting-clothes  and  was  dressed  in  an 
old  business  suit,  and  put  his  birds  in  his  coat-tail 
pockets.  He  aspired  to  make  a  better  bag  than 
master.  Master  was  not  a  jealous  ijunner,  and  rather 
encouraged  Mr.  Boulware  to  get  all  the  shots  and 
bag  all  the  birds  he  could.  We  had  flushed  a  covey 
and  were  following  the  single  birds  into  a  piece  ot 
open  pines  where  thev  had  pitched  into  matted 
broom-sedge.  Amine,  our  little  pointer  gvp,  stood 
a  bird  just  in  tront  of  Mr.  Boulware.  Her  feet 
were  almost  pressing  upon  the  bird.  Anybody 
could  see  that  by  looking  at  her.  Mr.  Boulware 
moved  quickly  up  to  get  the  shot;  and,  as  the  bird 
endeavored  to  extricate  itselt  trom  the  tangled  grasses, 
little  Amine  snapped  at  it  and  caught  it.  Mr. 
Bouhvare  took  it  from  her  mouth  and  held  it  up, 
exclaiming  that  it  was  his,  and  to  be  added  to  his 
score.  "  Certainlv,"  said  master,  laughing;  "get 
'em  any  way  you  can,"  and  Mr.  Boulware,  never 
doubting  Amine  had  badly  crippled  the  bird,  was 
careless  about  putting;  it  out  ot  pain.  With  a 
chuckle  of  satisfaction  he  passed  it  into  his  capa- 
cious coat-tail  pocket  and  moved  on.  About  two 
minutes  after  this,  master's  gun  suddenlv  exploded. 
Wheeling;  around  and  noting  the  direction,  I  saw 
a  bird  fall,  and  galloped  to  retrieve  it.  No  one  had 
seen  or  heard  a  bird  rise  ;  and  the  unexpected  shot, 
immediately  in  his  rear,  startled  Mr.  Boulware  con- 
siderably. "  I  did  not  see  that  bird  !  W^here  did 
it  come  trom  ? "  exclaimed  he.  "  Out  ot  your 
pocket,"  said  master,  with  a  merry  twinkle.  It 
was  some  time  before  Mr.  Boulware  could  be  con- 
vinced   thut    this    was    true.       Indeed,    he    did    not 


2l6 


Diomed 


believe  it  until  he  had  emptied  his  pockets,  counted 
his  birds,  and  made  sure  that  his  score  was  one 
short.  "  Whose  bird  is  it  now?"  said  master;  and 
Mr.  Boulware  confessed  that  he  had  fairly  forfeited 
all  claim  to  it.  He  was  not  aware  of  what  a  tender- 
mouthed  retriever  our  little  Amine  was.  He  could 
not  believe  that  the  bird  had  recovered  from  the 
shock  and  had  struggled  out  of  his  pocket  and 
started  away,  flying  as  swift  and  strong  as  if  it  had 
never  been  mouthed  bv  a  dog  and  knocked  care- 
lessly across  a  gun-barrel. 


AmiiiL'   Pointing. 

The  snipe  season  of  1888  followed  quickly  upon 
our  return  from  North  Carolina ;  and  then,  in  the 
fall,  came  a  novel  experience  for  me.  It  was  mv 
first  and  last  experience  in  a  dog  show.  I  feel 
equally  glad  that  it  was  both  the  one  and  the  other. 

In  the  year  1888  a  great  exposition  came  ofl-'  in 
Richmond.  Besides  the  industrial  display  there 
were    races    and    other    attractions.       Buffalo    Bill's 


Diomed  217 

show  was   to   be    there;    and,  among    other    things, 
it  was  determined  to  have  a  dog  show. 

Master  was  requested  to  take  charge  of  and  direct 
this  dog  show.  He  was  experienced  in  such  matters, 
having  been  judge  of  setters  and  pointers  for  many- 
years  at  the  Westminster  Kennel  Club  shows  in 
New  York,  when  he  was  a  young  fellow ;  and  while 
some  people  thought  it  below  his  dignitv,  now  that 
he  was  older,  to  act  as  manager,  master  took  the 
proposition  in  good  part,  and  consented  to  help  the 
exposition  in  any  way  he  could,  and  to  organize 
the  dog  show,  provided  the  management  would 
carry  out  his  plans.  He  received  full  authority 
from  them,  and  then  began  such  preparations  for 
a  dog  congress  as  I  never  saw  before  or  since. 
Richmond  is  a  small  place,  with  a  population  of 
about  a  hundred  thousand  people;  but  mv  master 
gave  them  a  dog  show  equal  in  every  detail  to  the 
finest  ever  given  in  New  York,  Boston,  Chicago,  or 
elsewhere.  It  may  not  have  been  as  profitable  as 
those  given  in  the  great  centres  of  population,  but 
it  offered  prizes  as  large  as  any  of  them  ;  had  every 
appointment  known  to  metropolitan  exhibitions ; 
and  attracted  dogs  from  one  end  of  the  Union  to 
the  other.  A  man  from  Vermont  brought  blood- 
hounds ;  New  Englanders  were  there  with  St.  Ber- 
nards and  mastifl^s.  All  the  crack  bull-dogs  of  the 
land  competed.  Toy-dogs,  terriers,  spaniels,  maltese 
poodles,  and  every  variety  of  visitors  came.  And 
the  setters  ot  every  breed  and  pointers  from  every 
section  put  in  an  appearance  in  force.  It  was  indeed 
a  tamous  show  ;  and,  to  this  day,  sportsmen  speak 
ot  that  dog  show  as  one  of  the  best  and  most  sue- 


21 8  Diomed 

cessfully  conducted  meetings  ever  held  in  America. 
The  special  feature  was  a  collection  of  one  hundred 
and  seven  Virginia  fox-hounds.  These  dogs  were 
run  as  a  pack.  Three  days'  fox-hunting  was  ar- 
ranged for.  Master  advertised  for  and  bought  about 
thirty  foxes.  One  of  these  foxes  he  would  set  at 
liberty  at  some  point  about  seven  miles  from  town, 
each  morning.  Then,  from  a  place  designated  the 
day  before,  and  near  to  the  exhibition  grounds,  he 
would  have  a  live  drag  started  earlv  in  the  morning. 
The  drag  would  be  taken  by  a  designated  route  to 
the  point  where  the  fox  had  been  released  an  hour 
before,  and  then  the  drag  was  taken  up.  By  this 
means  the  pack,  starting  from  the  place  designated 
for  the  meet,  ran  a  drag  scent  upon  a  known  route 
to  where  it  struck  the  tree  scent,  and,  from  there 
on,  the  chase  took  nature's  course  until  there  was 
a  kill  or  failure.  Old  fox-hunters  mav  ridicule  this 
style  of  fox-hunting,  but  master  said  it  was  the  best 
he  could  do,  and  that  he  was  on  a  "  campaign  ot 
education."  Whether  it  was  orthodox  fox-hunting 
or  not,  it  gave  a  great  many  people  a  great  deal  of 
pleasure.  There  were,  upon  the  drag  route,  several 
good  ditches,  fences,  and  hedges ;  and,  knowing 
where  the  hunt  would  pass,  many  who  were  not 
fox-hunters  assembled  at  these  trying  points,  and 
not  only  saw  the  hounds  go  by,  but  witnessed  some 
of  the  rarest  jumping  and  heaviest  tails  ever  seen  in 
Virginia  tox-hunting. 

When  the  hippodromino;  part  of  the  hunt  was 
over,  and  the  dogs  reached  the  free  scent  where  the 
real  hunting  began,  there  was  reasonably  good  fox- 
hunting, I  am  told. 


Diomed 


219 


Edmund  Winston  of  Hanover  Ccime  up  with  his 
famous  pack.  John  Haw  came  from  King  WilHam. 
The  Whites  and  the  Durretts  from  Albemarle  were 
there,  and  many  others.  Swan  Latrobe  came  down 
with  his  horses  from  Baltimore  ;  and  Hal  Dulaney 
with  his  from  Loudoun.  Old  Colonel  Fred  Skinner, 
aged  over  seventy,  one  of  the  greatest  living  fox- 
hunters,  came  down  from  New  York  and  rode  in 
every  hunt.  He  was  on  the  staff  of  the  "  Turf, 
Field,  and  Farm,"  and  was  master's  special  guest. 
Mr.  Morewood  appeared  in  the  pink  of  his  hunting- 
club  in  England  ;  and  many  others  from  a  distance 
were  at  the  meets.  No  more  inspiring  sight  was 
ever  witnessed  on  the  streets  of  Richmond  than  the 
cavalcade  of  men  and  women,  numbering  over  one 
hundred,  who  started  on  the  "  Welcome  Hunt,"  the 
opening  day. 

At  the  place  designated  for  the  meet,  the  several 
packs  appeared,  led  by  their  respective  owners. 
The  dogs  had  been  kennelled  near  together  and  fed 
together  for  several  days  so  as  to  avoid,  as  much  as 
possible,  the  fighting  which  is  apt  to  occur  among 
strange  dogs.  Of  course  it  was  hopeless  that  when 
the  scent  was  once  acknowledged,  they  would  any 
longer  keep  together  as  a  pack.  The  eagerness  of 
their  respective  owners  to  displav  the  superior  speed 
of  their  own  dogs  would  of  itself  have  prevented  this, 
and  was  a  feature  promising  much  sport.  At  an 
appointed  signal  the  packs  were  led  forward  by  their 
owners  to  the  point  whence  the  drag  started.  No 
prettier  sight  was  ever  witnessed  than  when  Edmund 
Winston's  Wise  and  John  Haw's  Brilliant  and 
Bender  struck,  and,  giving  tongue  like  three  trum- 


2  20  Diomed 

peters,  cast  forward  side  by  side,  running  true  to  the 
line,  and  fast  as  ghosts,  followed  by  a  chorus  ot  one 
hundred  dogs.  Out  by  the  hermitage,  across  the 
old  tortifications,  quick  through  the  suburban  bar- 
rens, sped  the  hounds  ;  followed  by  owners,  hunts- 
men, and  lookers  on,  in  such  a  pell-mell  chase  as  is 
seldom  seen.  Where  the  scent  crossed  the  slab- 
town  road,  a  party  ot  watchers  were  rewarded  by  a 
close  view  of  the  whole  pack  in  full  cry,  and  ot  tifty 
riders  taking  a  high  fence  on  one  side  and  a  sunken 
ditch  beyond.  A  moment  later  and  the  storm  had 
swept  past  —  the  voices  of  the  dogs  dying  out  in  the 
woods  beyond  —  the  forms  of  the  riciers  disappearing 
as,  one  by  one,  they  cleared  a  distant  hedge.  All 
that  was  left  to  tell  the  tale  were  several  "  lame- 
ducks,"  who  had  come  to  grief,  with  cause  or  with- 
out it ;  and  one  or  two  laggard  hounds  tor  whom 
the  pace  had  been  too  hot,  trotting  along  indiffer- 
ently, and  far  behind,  in  the  general  direction  of  the 
hunt.      But  I  must  give  up  describing  fox-hunting. 

This  thinor  went  on  for  three  days.  I  am  no  fox- 
hunter,  and  if  I  continue  in  this  vein,  I  will  have  no 
opportunity  to  describe  the  many  interesting  and 
amusing  things  which  I  saw  in  my  own  class. 

So  away  with  fox-hunting.  Let  us  go  back  from 
these  roistering  hounds  to  the  more  intellectual 
society  of  setters  and  pointers.  They  are  the  aris- 
tocracy among  dogs. 

Dicky  Don,  Young  Beulah,  and  I  were  kennelled 
together  with  other  dogs  belonging  to  master  and 
Mr.  Selden.  We  were  marked  "  not  for  competi- 
tion," as  our  masters  were  interested  in  the  show. 
Several  of  our  puppies  were  with  us,  and  unfortunate 


Dioiiicd  22  1 

it  was  that  thev'  were,  tor  thcv  all  contracted  dis- 
temper, and  one  of  them,  Imogen,  died  from  its 
effects.  I  wonder  how  long  it  will  be  before  the 
owners  of  valuable  puppies  will  learn  that  it  is 
tempting  disease  and  death  to  send  them  to  these 
dog  shows. 

Our  benches  were  facing  the  judging  ring,  and  we 
had  ample  opportunities  to  see  and  hear  a  great 
deal. 

Our  oki  friend  Mr.  Tracy  was  judge.  I  often 
wondered  whether  if  1  had  been  taken  in  tor  com- 
petition he  would  have  given  me  anything.  I 
hardly  think  he  would  have  done  so,  for  there  were 
much  handsomer  dogs  than  I  present.  If  he  could 
have  made  my  field  work  count  in  my  favor,  I 
know  he  -would  have  helped  me.  Dude,  Spencer 
Carter's  pointer,  of  whom  I  spoke  in  a  previous 
chapter,  went  in  and  won  a  fine  prize.  Dude  was 
a  handsome  fellow.  He  went  in  without  much 
preparation  too,  and  won  a  prize  away  from  a  lot 
of  dogs  that  had  been  groomed,  by  professional 
kennelmen,  until  they  were  as  fine  looking  as 
Broadway  dandies. 

I  saw  an  entirely  new  type  of  dog-men  at  this 
show.  In  fact,  many  new  types.  These  people 
would  come  by  our  kennel  and  look  at  us  very 
indifferently  because  we  had  no  keepers,  or  blan- 
kets, or  brushes.  They  did  not  seem  to  consider 
or  look  at  a  dog's  head,  and  his  eye,  and  his 
muscle,  and  the  pads  of  his  feet,  or  appear  inter- 
ested in  the  question  whether  he  could  hunt.  I 
could  hear  them  talking  all  about  me,  and  the 
things    they  talked    about   were  whether    the  dog's 


222  Diomed 

coat  was  smooth  or  curly,  and  whether  he  had  a 
good  feather  on  his  tail,  and  what  bench  show 
prizes  he  had  won,  and  how  much  he  would  sell 
for.  Those  were  the  kennel  men.  I  could  see 
them  combing  and  brushing  and  bathing  the  dogs 
as  carefully  as  if  they  were  gold  or  silver  dogs,  but 
I  never  once  heard  one  of  these  fellows  talking 
about  hunting  the  dogs.  They  struck  me  as  an 
odd  lot.  The  dogs  themselves  were  beauties.  It 
was  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to  see  such  pointers  as 
Tammany,  Lad  of  Bow,  and  Bang  Bang,  and  such 
setters  as  Gloster  and  Dad  Wilson.  I  took  very 
little  interest  in  mere  bench-show  winners.  Unless 
they  have  field  qualities  they  amount  to  nothing. 
A  very  amusing  thing  occurred  with  two  of  these 
curled  darlings  who  were  benched  near  me.  One 
afternoon  the  dog  show  was  crowded.  The  attend- 
ance about  the  stall  of    and     two 

famous  English  setters  and  bench-show  winners, 
was  larger  than  elsewhere  in  the  show.  Their  blue 
ribbons  were  dangling  from  their  boxes  ;  their  pedi- 
grees were  pinned  up  behind  them  ;  they  had  fine 
cloth  bedding ;  and  their  beautifully  groomed  blue 
belton  markings  made  them  the  envy  of  us  all. 

Suddenly  the  rumor  went  abroad  in  the  building 
that  a  military  pageant  ot  some  sort  was  going  on 
in  the  grounds  outside,  and  the  visitors  rushed  out 
to  see  it,  leaving  the  exhibition  almost  deserted  for 
the  time  being.  It  was  a  section  of  artillerv  about 
to  fire  a  salute.  In  a  few  minutes  crash  went  a  gun 
not  tar  away,  and  the  prize-winners  sprung  to  their 
feet,  their  ears  pricked  up  and  working  back  and 
forth  in  abject  terror ;  crash  went  another  gun,  and 


Diomed  zz'; 

and    made  a  spring  from  their  boxes, 

and  turned  a  somersault  on  their  chains.  In  this 
position,  struggling  and  choking,  they  hung  until  the 
return  of  some  kindlv  attendant ;  and  had  he  been 
a  little  later,  there  would  have  been  two  dead  first- 
prize  winners  in  the  Richmond  show,  choked  to 
death  through  fright  at  that  which  a  real  good  dog 
loves  better  than  any  other  sound. 

Every  minute  of  the  dog  show  interested  me. 
The  types  and  standards  were  so  different  trom 
anything;  I  had  known  before,  and  the  owners  ot 
dog-show^  dogjs  were  so  unlike  the  class  of  dog- 
owners  with  whom   I    had  been  thrown. 

At  last  the  dog  show  ended.  Owners  and  dogs, 
great  and  small,  departed,  and  I  returned  home. 

What  greeted  me  there  sent  a  chill  of  sorrow  to 
my  heart.  On  every  hand  I  saw  preparations  for 
departure.  The  mirrors  and  pictures  were  down, 
the  carpets  up,  the  books  in  the  library  boxed.  I 
knew  what  it  all  meant.  Master  was  moving  to 
New  York.      I  was  to  go  to  live  with  Mr.  Selden. 

A  day  or  two  afterwards  he  came  for  me.  I 
loved  him  and  loved  his  home,  but  he  was  not  my 
master,  and  it  was  not  my  home.  When  the  chil- 
dren came  and  put  their  arms  about  me  and  kissed 
me  and  told  me  good-by ;  when  mistress  passed 
her  hand  over  my  forehead  and  patted  me ;  when 
old  Mammy  put  the  corner  of  her  apron  to  her 
eye;  when,  at  last,  master  and  Mr.  Selden  started 
to  the  depot,  and  called  me  to  follow  them,  —  I  felt 
more  wretched  and  deserted  than  ever  in  my  whole 
life.  As  for  master,  he  was  full  of  hope  and  buoyancy 
at  the  change  he  was  about  to  make,  and  told  me  1 


224 


Diomed 


would  be  as  happy  in  the  country  as  at  home,  and 
that  he  would  often  come  there  hunting,  and  see 
me  as  much  as  ever.  He  may  have  believed  all 
this,  but  1  did  not,  and  to  this  dav  I  have  never 
forgiven  him  for  not  taking  me  with  him  to  New 
York. 


"Good-by. 


Chapter    XIV 

(1889-1890) 
A   Trip   to   Florida 


»iHE  season  of  1889  ^^^  ^  busy  one.  Mr, 
Seidell  was  an  ardent  sportsman  and  had 
many  visitors.  I  was  between  five  and  six  years  old, 
and  in  my  very  prime.  During  all  that  season  it 
was  nip  and  tuck  between  Dicky  Don  and  myself, 
as  to  which  was  the  best  dog.  One  day  Mr.  Selden 
would  pronounce  in  favor  of  one,  and  the  next  he 
would  award  the  palm  to  the  other.  Surely,  no  dog 
ought  to  have  complained  of  a  lot  such  as  mine,  for 
the  kind  gentleman  with  whom   I   was  left  seemed 


226  Diomed 

fond  of  me,  not  only  for  my  own  sake,  but  on  ac- 
count of  my  absent  master,  whose  departure  he 
mourned  nearly  as  much  as  I  did  myself.  I  believe 
the  score  of  birds  killed  over  me  that  season  was 
larger  than  in  any  previous  year,  for  I  was  now  in 
the  country  all  the  time,  and  either  Mr.  Selden  or 
his  visitors  were  shooting  every  clear  day  of  the 
season.  Dicky  Don  was  emphatically  a  one-man 
dog.  When  his  master  was  along  he  hunted  unre- 
mittingly ;  but  when  visitors  sought  to  take  him, 
he  would  go  a  little  way  with  them,  and  then  return 
home  in  search  of  Mr,  Selden,  to  whom  he  was 
passionately  attached  and  in  whose  absence  he  was 
wretched.  Not  so  with  me.  From  my  earliest 
youth  I  would  hunt  for  anybody  that  would  take 
me  out.  Of  course,  when  master  was  of  the  party, 
everv  one  else  was  out  ot  mv  consideration  ;  but, 
he  being  absent,  it  was  all  grist  that  came  to  my 
mill,  and  no  visitor  ever  had  occasion  to  say  that  Di 
deserted  and  went  home.  As  a  consequence,  I  think 
I  was  a  more  popular  dog  than  Dicky  Don,  with 
strangers.  I  liked  to  hunt  with  the  visitors,  tor  the 
farther  reason  that  it  gave  me  opportunities  for 
taking  liberties  with  them  that  I  would  not  have 
dared  to  venture  upon  with  either  master  or  Mr. 
Selden.  On  such  occasions  I  made  the  hares  fly 
before  me  as  if  the  avenging  angel  pursued  them, 
and  did  other  things  that  were,  I  confess,  outrageous. 
For  instance,  Mr.  Selden  would  not  believe  young 
Harrison  one  evening,  when,  upon  his  return  from 
shooting,  he  told  him  that  I,  being  sent  to  retrieve 
a  dead  bird,  which  had  fallen  across  a  brook,  had 
eaten  it  bodily. 


Diomed  227 

"  Nonsense,"  said  Mr.  Selden.  "  I  have  shot 
over  Di  for  years,  and  he  is  one  of  the  tenderest 
mouthed  retrievers  I  ever  saw." 

"  He  did  swallow  the  bird  whole,"  insisted  the 
young  fellow.  "  And,  besides,  he  hunted  and  chased 
rabbits." 

"  Now  that  last  statement  sounds  more  probable," 
laughed  Mr.  Selden.  "  For  he  dearly  loves  hares. 
A  little  switching  would,  however,  have  put  an 
end  to  that.  But  you  cannot  make  me  believe 
that  Di  swallowed  a  bird.  1  have  seen  him  re- 
trieve hundreds,  nay,  thousands,  without  turning 
a  feather." 

Reader,  young  Harrison  told  the  truth.  I  was, 
as  Mr.  Selden  said,  a  very  tender  mouthed  retriever; 
but  at  times  the  temptation  to  eat  a  bird  was  so  great 
that  to  resist  it  was  almost  impossible.  Master 
could  have  told  Mr.  Selden  something  about  this 
which  he  did  not  know,  for  one  day  I  actually  started 
to  swallow  a  bird  whole  while  hunting  with  him.  I 
say  one  dav,  for  I  never  tried  it  again  with  him.  He 
detected  me  in  the  act.  Seizing  me  by  the  throat 
with  one  hand  and  choking  me  until  my  eyes  tairly 
popped,  he  ran  his  other  hand  down  my  throat,  got 
hold  of  that  bird's  legs,  and  pulled  it  forth,  with  all 
the  feathers  set  the  wrong  way.  As  it  came  out,  I 
felt  as  if  I  was  being  turned  wrong  side  outward. 
But  it  was  not  through  meanness  that  he  required 
me  to  fetch  him  the  birds  untouched  ;  for,  on  more 
than  one  occasion,  knowing  how  fond  I  was  ot  them, 
I  have  known  him  to  carefully  pick  birds  that  were 
badly  shot,  and  feed  them  to  me.  I  would  as  soon 
have  thought  of  committing  the  unpardonable  sin 


228  Diomed 

as  trying  to  eat  a  bird  in  master's  presence  after 
that  single  experience.  One  day,  to  show  him  how 
thoroughly  broke  of  my  old  trick  I  was,  I  played  a 
practical  joke  upon  him.  Shooting  in  a  thick  piece 
of  pines,  a  bird  sprang  very  close  to  him  and  would 
have  escaped  in  another  moment  behind  the  trees  if 
he  had  not  fired.  At  the  moment  of  discharge  the 
bird  was  so  close  to  him  that  the  whole  load  of  shot 
must  have  struck  it,  for  it  was  blown  to  atoms.  The 
shot  embedded  themselves  in  a  tree  in  the  line  of 
fire,  actually  pasting  the  head  and  wing  of  the  bird, 
all  that  was  left  of  it,  against  the  rough  bark.  When 
I  went  up  to  retrieve,  the  only  trace  of  the  bird  that 
I  could  discover  was  this  head  and  wing,  hanging  on 
the  side  of  the  tree.  Rearing  up  on  my  hind  legs 
and  reaching  for  these,  I  picked  them  off  carefully 
and  trotted  back  to  master.  At  sight  of  me,  hold- 
ing up  these  little  fragments,  he  burst  into  laughter 
and  said,  "  Now  here's  a  bird  you  might  have  swal- 
lowed before  I  could  choke  it  out  of  your  throat, 
you  saucy  rascal." 

I  missed  my  master  most  when  the  sprin2;time 
came  and  the  snipe  season  returned.  Mr.  Selden, 
being  a  farmer,  was  too  busily  engaged  about  his 
plantation  at  this  season  to  visit  the  snipe  marshes, 
which  were  distant  sixty  miles  or  more. 

From  time  to  time  letters  came  from  master, 
always  containing  loving  messages  for  me,  which 
were  both  delivered  to  and  understood  by  me. 
Mr.  Selden  so  fully  appreciated  this  fact  that  he 
often  invited  visitors  to  observe  my  behavior  when 
he  delivered  to  me  master's  messages. 

The  autumn  of  1889  arrived,  and  still  master  did 


Diomed  229 

not  appear.  The  shooting-season  opened.  Once 
more  we  ranged  the  brown  stubble  fields  in  the  keen 
autumn  air.  Dicky  Don,  Mr.  Selden,  and  I  had 
become  inseparable.  Many  a  night,  after  our  long 
hunts,  we  lay  stretched  before  the  fire,  Mr.  Selden 
and  his  good  wife  sitting  near  by,  he  reading,  she 
sewing.  He  would  look  up  and  with  a  sigh  say, 
"  I  wonder  when  old  John  will  be  down.  It  is 
the  first  season  in  ten  years  in  which  we  have 
not  shot  together.  He's  up  to  his  eyes  in  business 
in  New  York,  I  suppose.  I  expect  his  hunting 
days  are  over."  No  matter  how  tired  I  might  be, 
my  ears  were  always  wide  open  when  conversation 
like  that  occurred.  I  too  sighed,  and  thought, 
"Yes.  His  hunting  days  are  over.  I  am  forgotten. 
The  hunt  for  fame  and  money  makes  men  forget 
even  the  truest  friends  of  their  simpler  happier 
days." 

Then  we  would  pack  up  a  hamper  of  game  and 
express  it  to  master  in  New  York,  accompanied  by 
a  letter  telling  him  that  game  was  more  plentiful 
than  for  years,  and  Di  was  hunting  better  than  ever 
before,  in  the  hope  that  we  would  thereby  stir  up 
the  old  fires  in  him  and  make  him  break  away  from 
his  new  surroundings  and  come  to  us. 

But  it  all  seemed  to  be  in  vain.  November  passed, 
and  December  was  fast  drawing  to  its  close.  Letters 
came  telling  us  that  master  was  in  this  place  or  in 
that,  engaged  on  some  business  he  could  not  post- 
pone ;  and  I  realized,  more  and  more,  what  I  had 
always  feared,  that  mv  separation  from  master  was 
almost  complete.  xAnd  little  master,  of  whom  I  was 
so  fond,  what  had  become  of  him  ?     He  was  gone 


230  Diomed 

too.  Gone,  as  I  heard  them  say,  to  a  great  school 
where  they  make  soldiers,  and  in  which  they  keep 
them  for  years  and  years  before  they  let  them  come 
out.  "  Well,"  thought  I,  as  I  realized  how  com- 
fortable I  was,  and  how  much  hunting  I  had,  and 
how  much  worse  it  might  have  been,  "  it  would  be 
ungrateful  in  me  if,  with  a  kind  friend  like  Mr.  Sel- 
den,  I  was  unhappy.  I  must  take  things  as  they 
are,  and  be  content." 

Usually  the  mail  was  brought  up  from  the  depot 
after  supper.  One  night  when  we  were  all  in  our 
accustomed  places  after  a  hard  day's  hunt  across  the 
river  in  Powhatan  County,  the  servant  handed  in  a 
package  ot  mail.  Adjusting  his  glasses,  and  draw- 
ing the  lamp  towards  him,  Mr.  Selden  singled  out 
one  of  the  letters  with  the  joyous  exclamation,  "Ah  ! 
Mary  !  Here's  a  long  letter  from  John."  Then  he 
read  it  aloud.  After  explaining  what  had  delayed 
his  coming,  master  informed  him  that  he  was  now 
at  leisure,  and  that,  as  the  bird  season  was  nearly 
over  in  Virginia,  and  as  he  knew  that  Mr.  Selden 
could  not  leave  home  until  after  hog-killing  and  the 
Christmas  holidays,  he  had  arranged  a  trip  to  Florida 
to  come  off  early  in  January,  and  wished  us  to  meet 
him  in  Richmond  and  go  down  with  him  to  Talla- 
hassee for  a  fortnight's  shooting.  Nobody  loved 
a  jaunt  like  this  any  better  than  Mr.  Selden,  anci 
great  was  my  joy  at  hearing  him  say  that  he  would 
accept. 

In  due  time  we  departed,  Mr.  Selden,  Dicky 
Don,  and  myself,  and  two  hours  later  we  were 
awaiting  at  the  Richmond  depot  the  arrival  of  the 
train   from   the   North,  bound    for  Florida.     As  it 


Diomed  231 

rolled  into  the  depot,  master  sprung  off  before  the 
cars  stopped,  and,  hardly  pausing  to  speak  to  Mr. 
Selden,  he  seized  me  and  hugged  me  and  fondled 
me  as  if  I  had  been  his  child.  I,  in  turn,  barked 
and  cavorted  around  in  such  a  way  that  the  pas- 
sengers seemed  to  think  we  were  crazy.  "  The  old 
fellow  is  looking  well,"  said  he,  as  he  shook  hands 
cheerily  with  Mr.  Selden  and  introduced  the  other 
members  of  his  party.  I  observed  that  master  had 
grown  much  stouter  and  that  his  complexion  had 
lost  the  hard  tanned  look  it  had  in  the  days 
when  we  shot  together  so  much.  But  it  was  too 
happy  a  moment  for  close  criticism,  and  the  fa- 
tigue of  our  long  journey  was  greatly  relieved  by 
his  repeated  visits  to  the  baggage-car  on  our  way 
southward. 

We  breakfasted  next  day  at  King's  Mountain, 
where  I  was  allowed  to  take  a  little  exercise,  and 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  our  old  friend  Bill.  Bill 
and  his  owner  begged  us  to  stop  off,  assuring  us 
of  great  sport,  but  our  plans  were  all  made  ;  and, 
pursuing  our  journev,  the  next  morning  found  us 
at  Tallahassee. 

"What  a  beautiful  climate,"  thought  I,  as  the 
first  breezes  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  fanned  us 
with  their  gentle  breath,  so  in  contrast  with  the 
nipping  air  of  the  North.  We  did  not  experience 
here  that  invigoration  which  fills  one  who,  for  the 
first  time,  visits  the  Minnesota  prairies.  On  the 
contrary,  while  the  contrast  with  our  home  was  de- 
lightful, the  influence  seemed  to  bid  us  to  rest  and 
sleep  rather  than  to  activity.  Our  arrival  was  ex- 
pected at  a  superb  hotel,  where  we  stopped,  and  all 


232  Diomed 

preparations  for  sport  were  made  in  advance.  After 
a  bath  and  breaktast  we  entered  into  two  vehicles 
which  awaited  us,  and  drove  away. 

The   town  itself  was    soniethino-    different    from 

o 

anything  I  had  ever  seen  before.  The  houses 
were,  as  a  rule,  low  frame  structures,  of  antique 
style,  with  the  windows  running  down  to  the  floors, 
and  opening  upon  large  shaded  verandas  supported 
bv  columns. 

The  yard  spaces  were  immense,  and  about  the 
houses  were  orange  trees  and  magnolias,  water  oaks 
and  cypress  trees,  the  last  named  two  often  hung 
with  great  festoons  of  moss.  Upon  many  of  these 
verandas  were  hammocks  and  large  rocking-chairs, 
and,  even  in  the  morning,  the  ladies  of  the  place, 
dressed  in  filmy-looking  garments,  sat  on  the  shady 
porches,  apparently  unaware  of  such  a  thing  as  our 
northern  winter.  The  streets  had  a  lazy,  deserted 
look.  The  level  roadbeds  built  of  pounded  shells 
stretched  away,  here  in  deep  shadow,  there  gleaming 
white  in  the  bright  sunlight,  between  long  avenues 
of  wide-spreading  trees.  Almost  the  only  people  to 
be  seen  moving  about  were  darkies,  many  of  them 
driving  mules  or  stunted  bullocks  to  vehicles  of  the 
oddest  construction.  One  darky,  mounted  upon  a 
cart  body  about  the  size  of  a  store-box,  drove  from 
gateway  to  gateway,  blowing  a  tin  horn,  selling 
beautiful  Gulf  fish.  The  appearance  ot  his  outfit 
was  quite  picturesque  as  he  stood  there  by  his 
drowsy,  patient  ox,  in  his  striped  shirt,  with  his  bare 
feet,  under  a  broad  straw  hat,  the  wagon  piled  with 
silver  mackerel  and  coral-tinted  red  snappers,  tresh 
from  the  Gulf    The  background  was  a  hedge  of  osage 


Diomed  233 

orange,  orange  trees  laden  with  truit,  and  deep  green 
magnolias,  standing  out  against  the  gleaming  white 
of  a  Tallahassee  mansion. 

Beyond  the  limits  of  the  town  the  country  ceased 
to  present  any  features  ot  beauty.  It  was  flat  and 
interspersed  with  forests,  swamps,  and  lagoons.  I'he 
area  of  cultivation  was  small  compared  with  the 
wooded  lands  ;  and  even  such  lands  as  had  been  in 
cultivation  were  so  indifferently  tilled  that  masses 
of  rank  weeds  and  briars  oftentimes  swept  our 
wagon  wheels  on  the  narrow  roads,  in  such  luxu- 
riant growth  that  hunting  for  game  in  such  matted 
jungle  seemed  like  a  hopeless  task. 

The  squalid  negro  huts  scattered  along  our  route 
bespoke  the  poverty  of  the  population.  Such  fields 
as  seemed  open  enough  to  hunt,  apparently  con- 
tained nothing  upon  which  birds  could  feed  ;  for 
no  small  grain  is  grown  in  this  section.  Driving 
on  further,  we  came  to  sandy  barrens  partly  bare 
and  partly  covered  with  pines  standing  far  apart, 
with  little  vegetation  save  scattered  tufts  of  broom 
sedge,  or  salt  grasses  about  the  oozy  borders  of 
stagnant  pools  or  ponds.  I  thought  I  had  never 
seen  a  place  which  seemed  so  unpromising  for 
quail,  or  so  ill  provided  with  their  means  ot  sus- 
tenance. 

But,  in  so  thinking,  I  never  made  a  greater  mis- 
take in  my  lite.  Reaching  a  point  some  miles  from 
town,  we  alighted  from  the  vehicle,  and,  under  the 
guidance  of  a  local  sportsman,  began  our  hunting. 
I  think  we  found  our  first  covey  of  Florida  quail 
within  one  hundred  yards  of  the  point  where  we  left 
the  wagon  and  entered  an   abandoned  cotton  field. 


234 


Diomed 


The  covey  was  a  large  one,  and,  while  they  did  not 
rise  with  the  rush  and  vigor  of  our  northern  birds, 
or  fly  as  far,  they  furnished  very  good  shooting,  and 
scattered  into  a  beautiful  place. 

One  of  the  best  features  ot  this  Florida  shooting 
is  that,  as  far  as  I  could  judge,  the  birds  are  as  easy 
to  find  at  one  time  of  the  day  as  another.  At  home 
thev  feed  out  into  the  open  fields  only  in  the  morn- 


ing and  the  evening ;  and  in  the  middle  of  the  day 
they  are  in  their  thick  coverts  resting  and  sunning 
themselves,  move  about  verv  little,  and,  conse- 
quently, it  is  dif^cult  to  find  them.  Not  so  here. 
The  thick  coverts  are  so  swampy  that  the  birds 
avoid  them  ;  they  prefer  the  open  dry  places  ;  and 
thus  it  is  that  at  any  hour  of  the  day  the  dogs  are 
apt  to  come  upon  them. 

Besides  the  quail,  snipes  occupv  much  the  same 
grounds,  and  at  night,  the  game-bag  is  likelv  to  con- 
tain as  many  of  the  one  as  of  the  other. 


Diomed 


^35 


Observing  the  rule  I  announced  at  the  outset,  I 
will  not  state  the  nuiiiher  of  quail  or  snipes  we  shot 
on  our  trip  to  Florida ;  but  it  was  an  astonishing 
figure,  especially  as  we  seldom  started  very  earlv,  and 
always  returned  in  time  for  a  six  o'clock  dinner  at 
the  hotel. 

Two  ladies  were  in  our  party,  and  several  days 
they  accompanied  us.      We  were  seldom  far  distant 


i-      > 


Lunch. 


from  the  vehicle,  and  often  returned  to  it,  to  ride 
from  one  hunting-ground  to  the  other.  Owing  to 
this,  Florida  hunting  was  much  easier  work  than  we 
had  at  home,  when  the  shooters  were  on  horseback, 
and  we  were  toiling;  afoot  all  day  over  a  rolling 
country,  and  were  compelled  to  trot  home  at  night. 
One  ot  the  ladies  grew  much  interested  in  shoot- 
ing, and  under  Mr.  Selden's  gallant  teaching,  be- 
came quite  proficient  in  hitting  objects  thrown  in 
the  air. 


236  Diomed 

Altogether,  shooting  in  Florida  was  more  of  a 
picnic  than  serious  work.  In  deference  to  our  fair 
companions,  great  hampers  of  food  were  placed  in 
our  wagons,  and  long  rests  with  sumptuous  tiffin 
were  taken  every  day. 

Oh  ye  sportsmen  shut  up  in  towns  in  the  cold 
and  frozen  North,  look  at  this  picture  of  us  as  we 
basked  in  the  Florida  sunshine  in  January,  1890. 
Does  it  not  make  you  envious  ? 

Remember,  too,  that  under  the  seat  of  that  vehicle 
into  which  the  horse  is  poking  his  nose,  is  a  pile  of 
quail  numbering  not  less  than  —       No  matter. 

I  once  told  you  that  my  fondness  for  retrieving 
from  water  had  twice  come  near  costing  me  my  life. 
The  first  time  was  in  the  snipe  marsh  at  Deep  Bot- 
tom, as  you  know.  The  second  time  was  on  this 
Florida  trip  ;  tor  while  I  have  so  far  told  you  only 
the  pleasant  part  of  it,  there  were  disagreeable  feat- 
ures also.  When  I  was  a  young  dog  I  would  some- 
times grow  very  enthusiastic  about  this  or  that,  and 
an  old  Newfoundland  who  passed  his  time  dozing 
on  a  neighbor's  door  mat  was  fond  of  saying  to  me, 
"Ah,  Di  !  You  are  too  exuberant  —  too  exuberant, 
my  boy.  When  you  reach  my  age,  you  will  find 
that  for  every  streak  of  fat  you  get  in  this  world 
there  is  sure  to  be  a  streak  of  lean."  He  was  a 
philosopher,  a  philosopher  of  the  bacon  stripe,  as 
I  learned  later.  Just  so  it  was  in  Florida.  At  first 
I  thought  nothing  was  lacking  to  make  the  pleasure 
of  our  trip  complete.  Soon  I  found  that  the  Flor- 
ida fleas  and  the  Florida  sandburs  were  serious 
drawbacks  ;  and  at  last  I  had  an  experience  with  an 
alligator  which   would    have   turned   my  hair  white 


Diomed  2/57 

if  it  had  not  been  so  already,  and  which  would 
have  stunted  mv  growth  if  I  had  not  been  already 
grown. 

In  the  little  bavous  or  lagoons  we  saw  alligators 
from  the  time  of  our  first  arrival,  and,  in  a  general 
way,  I  knew  alligators  were  to  be  avoided.  But  1 
did  not  know  that  the  most  delicious  morsel  in  the 
world  to  an  alligator,  next  to  a  young  pig,  not  even 
excepting  a  young  darky,  is  dog.  Moreover,  I 
thought  alligators  lived  in  the  large  streams,  and 
had  yet  to  learn  that  their  favorite  abiding-places 
are  the  small  sloughs  in  the  swamps. 

In  this  state  of  knowledge  or  ignorance  I  had  an 
experience  which  left  me  better  posted  than  the 
average  dog  as  to  the  habits  and  appearance  of  alli- 
gators. 

We  were  shooting  in  a  sunny  piece  of  pines. 
The  birds  had  scattered  very  prettily,  and  the 
shooters  had  separated,  each  following  his  own 
dog.  I  pointed  a  bird  which  was  squatting  under 
a  tuft  of  swamp  grass  on  the  margin  of  a  stagnant 
pool.  When  the  bird  rose,  it  made  for  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  pool,  about  fifty  yards  distant. 
Master  fired  when  it  was  nearly  over  the  centre  of 
the  pool,  and  the  bird  fell  wounded  into  the  w^ater. 
It  made  a  great  splash,  and  I  dashed  into  the  shal- 
low water  and  only  found  it  necessary  to  swim  when 
I  had  gone  ten  yards  or  so  from  shore.  I  had  ob- 
served what  I  supposed  to  be  a  half-submerged  log 
lying  not  far  from  the  bird,  but  gave  it  not  the 
slightest  attention  until,  when  I  was  quite  near,  to 
mv  horror  the  log  became  animated,  and  after  one 
or  two  languid  vibrations,  was    converted  into  the 


2jS 


Diomed 


most  wide-awake  alligator  I  ever  saw.  His  snout 
rose  from  the  water  ;  his  beady  eyes  were  fixed 
upon  me  ;  his  body  began  to  undulate  and  move 
forward  with  the  motion  of  a  skulling  skiff;  and  I 
saw  that  I  was  his  objective  point.  Never  had  I 
wished  before  for  man's  voice  as  1  did  then  ;  or 
even  for  woman's  voice  with  power  to  scream. 
Talk   about   vachts    that  are    quick   in    stays  !      No 


AUisjator 


yacht  that  was  ever  built  could  go  about  as  quickly 
as  I  did  upon  discovering  that  this  log  was  an  alli- 
gator. Talk  about  swimmers  !  Nothing  ever 
swam  any  faster  than  1  did,  except  that  alligator. 
"  O  !  master,  where  are  you  ?  "  thought  I,  in  agony, 
as  my  eyes  swept  the  shore  and  failed  to  discover 
any  sign  of  him.  The  distance  was  short,  but  it 
seemed  an  eternity.  I  heard  the  ripple  of  the  alli- 
gator as  he  closed  upon  me,  and  his  breathing  was 
like  the  blowing  of  a  porpoise.      It  was  no  time  to 


Dionied  239 

look  back.  My  feet  struck  the  soft  ooze,  which 
retarded  rather  than  helped  me.  Half  swimming, 
half  scrambling  through  the  mud,  halt  dead  with 
fright,  I  gained  the  brink  and  fairly  turned  a  somer- 
sault to  be  on  land,  the  alligator  not  six  feet  behind 
me.  At  that  moment  master  stepped  from  behind 
a  large  pine  and  fired  both  barrels  into  the  '  'gator's' 
face.  The  old  'gator,  in  his  turn,  wheeled  about 
and  scrambled  back  to  deep  water,  where  he  at  once 
sunk  out  of  sight,  unhurt,  no  doubt,  unless  perchance 
some  pellets  entered  his  eyes,  for  the  hide  of  an 
alligator  will  turn  a  ball  from  a  Winchester  rifle.  I 
thought  master's  hilarity  on  this  occasion  was  the 
most  heartless  and  ill-timed  behavior  of  which  I 
ever  knew  him  to  be  guilty.  It  was  no  laughing 
matter  with  me.  My  heart  was  pumping  like  a 
hydraulic  ram.  I  was  trembling  from  head  to  foot; 
almost  too  weak  to  walk  ;  and  literally  covered  with 
the  black  swamp  ooze.  I  never  recovered  from 
the  shock  that  whole  day.  Notwithstanding  all 
this,  my  master  behaved  like  a  heartless  lunatic. 
He  laughed  and  whooped  until  his  companions 
came  over  to  where  we  were  to  learn  what  it  was  all 
about.  Then  between  his  fits  of  laughter  he  told 
them  the  story  and  imitated  the  way  in  which  I 
swam  and  scrambled  ashore,  and  the  somersault  I 
turned,  and  the  way  I  looked  between  my  legs,  as 
I  went  over,  to  see  if  the  alligator  actually  had  me, 
etc.,  and  the  others  amused  themselves  at  my 
expense,  just  as  if  my  life  had  not  a  few  moments 
before  been  in  mortal  peril.  To  this  day  I  have 
never  seen  the  great  fun  of  that  joke. 

For  ten   days  we  continued  to  hunt  in   Florida. 


240 


Diomed 


Then  we  returned  as  we  had  come,  parting  at 
Richmond  with  master,  whom  I  never  saw  again 
until  the  following  November.  Then  he  came 
down,  and,  in  the  midst  of  our  best  shooting,  news 
came  of  a  great  panic  in  New  York,  and  the  shoot- 
ing stopped  abruptly. 


: .- .1  ^-^%ii^. 


Chapter    X\' 

('891) 
A    Hunt  on   the    Mexican    Border 


M'4^]-^     ~ 

:;.,  4,tet,kICKY  DON  and  1  had  tbllowed  Mr.  Sel- 
den  to  the  low  grounds  one  sunshiny  day  in  Janu- 
ary, 1 89 1.  While  he  superintended  the  hands,  who 
were  burning  broom  sedge  and  cleaning  out  ditches 
preparatory  to  spring  work,  Dick  and  I  amused 
ourselves  digging  for  moles  and  field  mice.  A  boy 
appeared  from  the  direction  of  the  depot,  bearing 
a  telegraphic  message  to  Mr.  Selden,  from  master, 
requesting  him  to  ship  me  at  once  by  express,  to  a 
place  called  Memphis,  Tennessee.  That  afternoon 
I  was  on  my  journey  westward  ;  and  a  long,  wearv, 
lonesome  trip  it  was.  I  travelled,  without  pause, 
for  two  nights  and   two  days.      Having  no  particu- 

R  241 


24'2  Diomed 

lars  as  to  the  nature  of  the  expedition,  or  its  ulti- 
mate destination,  I  did  a  good  deal  of  conjecturing 
about  where  I  was  going,  and  the  purpose  for  which 
I  had  been  sent  so  far  away  trom  home.  We 
reached  Memphis  late  one  Saturday  night.  My 
crate  was  delivered  near  midnight,  in  the  stone 
court-yard  of  a  large  hotel.  I  tell  asleep  under  the 
dim  light  ot  a  solitary  gas-jet,  feeling  about  as  lone- 
some as  a  sparrow  on  a  housetop,  or  a  cat  in  a 
strange  garret.  Early  in  the  morning  1  was  aroused 
by  master's  well-known  voice,  and  he  quickly  set 
me  at  liberty.  What  rejoiced  me  most  was  to  find 
that  he  was  alone  ;  tor  it  had  been  a  long  time  since 
we  had  enjoyed  one  of  our  old-tashioned  hunts  by 
ourselves.  Memphis  seemed  to  be  a  free  and  easy 
place.  Master  allowed  me  to  enter  the  hotel  with 
him  and  took  me  to  his  room.  After  breakfast,  I 
had  a  pleasant  morning  running  about  the  streets 
and  tollowing  him  along  the  high  bluffs  which  over- 
look the  river  and  run  parallel  with  its  course.  We 
saw  a  number  ot  well-bred  dogs  about  the  streets. 
Memphis  was,  at  that  time,  the  home  of  Gladstone, 
the  famous  English  setter;  and  a  great  many  people 
there  owned  fine  hunting-dogs.  We  called  to  pay 
our  respects  to  Gladstone  and  his  master,  but  found 
that  they  were  absent  from  the  city.  Near  midday 
we  set  out  afresh  upon  our  journey,  and  embarked 
upon  a  ferry-boat  to  cross  the  Mississippi  River, 
which,  opposite  Memphis,  is  fully  a  mile  wide.  In 
our  trips  to  Minnesota  we  had  crossed  this  stream  ; 
but  it  was  at  a  point  some  hundreds  of  miles  above, 
where  the  river  is  much  narrower  and  is  spanned 
by  a  bridge.     It  was   never  until   now  that  I   fully 


Diomec 


-4.'* 


realized  whv  thev  called  the  Mississippi  the  "  father 
of  waters."  Master  had  allowed  me  to  remain  un- 
boxed, and  from  the  ferry-boat  I  could  see  what  an 
immense  stream  it  is.  As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach 
it  came  down  from  the  north  and  rolled  onward  to 
the  south,  between  high  bluffs  on  its  eastern  banks 
and  low  wooded  swamps  to  the  west.  Here  and 
there  might  be  seen  sand-bars  about  which  geese 
and  other  water-fowl  were  collected.  The  river  was 
swollen  hv  the  winter  rains  and  snows,  and  its 
waters  were  so  turbid  with  brownish  dirt  that  it 
boiled  about  us  like  a  cauldron  of  mud.  Not  a 
sail  or  steamer  was  in  sight  above  us  or  below  us. 
Piers  for  a  bridge  were  in  process  of  construction 
near  the  shores.  Besides  these,  the  onlv  things 
appearing  upon  the  unbroken  surface  of  its  muddy 
waters  was,  here  and  there,  a  saw  log,  or  tree- top, 
borne  onward  to  the  Gulf,  bobbing  up  and  down, 
or  swirling  around  in  the  eddies,  in  the  fast-flowing 
waters  of  the  Mississippi.  I  remember  that  great 
flooded  stream  as  the  largest,  dreariest,  dirtiest 
solitude  of  water  I  ever  looked  upon.  When  we 
reached  the  western  shore,  master  announced  that 
the  country  was  called  Arkansas.  And  what  a  con- 
trast it  was  to  mv  own  fair  home  !  A  dirtv,  dingy 
depot  stood  by  the  rickety  wharf.  On  the  plat- 
form bales  of  cotton  were  piled  ;  and  rafts  of  saw 
logs,  with  wretched  boat-houses  upon  some  of  them, 
were  fastened  to  the  shore. 

A  train  of  rusty,  ill-painted  cars,  with  a  small  and 
old-fashioned  engine,  was  ready  to  start.  Not  a  hun- 
dred yards  from  the  levee  the  country,  back  from 
the   river,  fell   away   into   low   swamps   of  cypress, 


244  Diomed 

water  oak,  and  heavv  timber.  The  people  about 
the  place,  a  majority  of  whom  were  black,  were 
clothed  in  all  sorts  of  odd  and  ragged  garments. 
The  complexions  of  the  whites,  under  wide-spread- 
ing hats,  were  sallow  as  if  from  malaria,  or  red  as 
if  trom  liquor.  Stray  bits  of  cotton  seemed  to  cling 
to  everything  and  everybody,  even  to  the  beards  of 
the  men.  Muddy  cowhide  boots,  with  trousers 
stuck  into  them,  were  the  toot  gear  of  such  as  had 
shoes  of  any  kind.  Everybody  seemed  to  be  chew- 
ing tobacco,  and  tobacco  juice  flew  about  like  Scotch 
mist,  and  gummed  up  the  platforms  and  the  car 
floors ;  and,  apparently,  if  anything  or  anybody 
hereabouts  had  gone  through  the  form  of  washing, 
it  had  been  with  Mississippi  water,  which  had  lett 
them  dirtier  than  before. 

With  a  snort  and  a  jerk  and  a  bump,  we  started. 
Our  route  for  many  hours  lay  through  the  Arkan- 
sas swamps.  Oftentimes  the  tracks  were  laid  upon 
trestles  extending  many  hundreds  ot  yards  across 
swampy  ground ;  and  the  stations  seemed  to  be 
mere  hummocks  in  these  swamps,  unmarked,  as  a 
rule,  by  any  other  signs  of  habitation  than  some  saw- 
mill, or  wretched-looking  country  store,  the  roads 
leading  to  which  were  scarcely  visible.  1  heard  the 
men  who  talked  with  master  say  that  this  was  a 
great  country  for  bass  fishing  and  deer  and  bear 
and  turkey  hunting  —  these  Arkansas  swamps.  But 
I  was  glad  enough  when  we  had  passed  beyond  them, 
and  had  no  desire  to  penetrate  further  their  gloomy 
mysteries.  The  next  day  we  were  in  northern  Texas. 
Master  gave  me  a  rest  at  a  place  called  Sherman, 
whence   we   went  to   another    town    named    Dallas. 


Diomed  245 

Some  man  must  tell  vou  about  these  places.  There 
was  nothing  to  hunt  in  either  of  them,  and,  conse- 
quently, thev  made  little  lodgment  on  my  mind. 
Then  we  started  southward  and  westward  again, 
and  passed  through  a  place  called  Austin,  where 
I  saw  an  immense  white  building  called  a  Capitol. 
It  looked  dreary  and  lonesome  in  such  a  place.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  Texas  must  be  as  large  as  all  the 
rest  of  this  country  put  together,  and  I  heard  master 
say  it  was  large  enough  to  make  six  states  of  the  size 
of  Vircrinia  and  then  have  enough  left  to  make  Dela- 
ware and  Rhode  Island.  From  Austin  we  journeyed 
onward  to  a  place  named  Laredo,  located  upon  an- 
other great  river  named  the  Rio  Grande.  Across  this 
river  was  a  strange  country  called  Mexico.  Master 
soon  finished  his  business  at  Laredo,  and  after  cross- 
ing the  river,  and  taking  a  peep  at  Mexico,  we  pro- 
ceeded to  an  odd  city  called  San  Antonio.  Here,  at 
last,  we  took  a  long  rest,  and  made  arrangements  tor 
the  sport  I  had  been  brought  so  tar  to  enjoy. 

Our  abode  was  fixed  at  an  excellent  hotel  facing 
what,  in  this  far-off  land,  is  called  a  plaza.  With  us 
it  would  be  called  a  public  square.  Near  by  was  an 
old  building  which  looked  like  a  very  poor  church, 
or  a  very  good  stable.  It  was  a  low  structure  with 
a  flat  top  ;  the  windows  were  tall  and  narrovy,  and 
the  walls  were  built  of  a  kind  of  hard  plaster  or  clay 
known  as  adobe.  They  called  this  place  the  Alamo, 
and  we  were  told  that  in  some  early  war  in  Texas  it 
had  been  defended  by  men  who  were  all,  or  nearly 
all,  massacred. 

After  my  master  finished  the  business  which  had 
taken  him   to  San   Antonio,  he  procured  a  vehicle, 


246  Diomed 

and  we  rode  out  together  to  a  great  fort  called  Fort 
Sam  Houston,  General  Stanley  was  in  command, 
and  when  I  heard  master  say  that  the  general's  son 
and  little  master  were  at  West  Point  together,  I  felt 
pretty  sure  the  general  would  be  glad  to  see  us. 
Indeed,  we  were  not  mistaken  about  this,  for  he  met 
us  with  open  arms,  so  glad  was  he  to  hear  from  his 
boy  Dave,  and  to  talk  with  somebody  who  had  re- 
cently seen  him.  Master  told  him  a  good  story 
about  Dave.  Dave  was  an  army  boy,  and  a  great 
favorite  with  the  officers  and  soldiers  at  Fort  Sam 
Houston.  When  he  started  for  this  West  Point 
place  the  year  before,  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison  ac- 
companied him  to  the  train  with  the  post  band,  and 
had  a  great  jollification.  The  San  Antonio  news- 
papers published  an  account  of  these  proceedings, 
unfortunatelv  for  Dave.  They  gave  a  graphic  de- 
scription of  the  band  playing  "The  girl  I  left  behind 
me  "  as  Dave's  train  moved  oft. 

Now  the  old  boys  at  that  West  Point  place  have 
a  way  of  finding  out  all  about  newcomers,  and  mak- 
ing them  very  miserable  and  ridiculous  by  teasing 
them.  As  bad  luck  would  have  it,  some  of  them 
got  hold  of  the  San  Antonio  paper,  and  when  Dave 
arrived  they  were  ready  for  him.  They  made  him 
stand  on  one  foot  and  read  to  them  the  full  account, 
and  after  he  had  finished  that,  they  made  him  sing 
for  them  "  The  girl  I  left  behind  me."  Master  told 
Dave's  father  all  about  this,  and  they  laughed  over 
it  very  heartily.  It  made  the  old  general  cast  back 
to  his  own  boyhood  days  when  he  was  treated  in 
much  the  same  way.  Any  one  could  see  that  with 
such  things  in  common  it  would   not  take  long  tor 


Dionit 


^47 


master  and  the  general  to  become  good  friends. 
While  thev  were  thus  growing  sociable  I  was  im- 
proving mv  accjuaintance  with  the  general's  bob-tail 
pointer,  Rowdy,  a  real  tough,  game,  and  rugged 
specimen  of  a  frontier  hunting-dog.  "Sport?  "  said 
Rowdy  in  answer  to  my  inquiry.  "Yes  —  lots  of 
it.  Just  as  much  as  anybody  need  want  tor."  I  cast 
my  eyes  about  the  (General's  headquarters,  and  it  did 


*:^«T  ' 


Rowdv. 


me  good  to  see  his  rifles  and  shot-guns,  and  fishing- 
tackle,  and  all  the  evidences  that  he  w-as  one  of  our 
sort.  On  his  walls  were  the  heads  of  buffalo,  and 
elk,  and  antelopes,  and  prairie  wolves  ;  and  about 
the  place  were  stuffed  birds  of  various  kinds,  such 
as  pinnated  grouse,  sharp-tailed  grouse,  rutfed 
grouse,  mountain  quail,  valley  quail,  bob-W'hites, 
plovers,  and  other  varieties.  "Verily,"  thought  I, 
"we  have  found  the  sportsman's  paradise." 

The    general    told   us    he    had  but   yesterday   re- 


248  Diomed 

turned  from  a  duck  hunt  at  a  lake  near  bv  on  which 
he  had  shot  a  great  many  ducks.  He  seemed  very 
much  troubled  when  master  told  him  he  could  re- 
main but  a  few  days  ;  for  he  explained  that  he  was 
then  engaged  upon  a  Court  of  Inquiry,  which  would 
render  his  absence  from  the  fort  impossible  for  some 
days  to  come.  Of  course,  this  was  a  great  disap- 
pointment to  master ;  but  the  general,  after  think- 
ing it  over  for  a  while,  said  he  could  arrange  a  good 
hunt  for  us  notwithstanding  his  own  absence  ;  and 
proceeded,  in  true  military  style,  to  give  orders 
accordingly.  An  orderly  was  despatched  for  his 
trusted  guide,  a  man  named  Wentworth,  known 
by  everybody  under  the  sobriquet  of  "Buckshot" 
or  "  Little  Buckshot."  1  heard  the  general  tell 
master  so  many  remarkable  things  about  this 
Buckshot  that  he  was  a  real  hero  in  my  eyes.  In 
fact,  master  says  he  is  the  hero  of  several  of  Ned 
Buntline's  novels. 

In  appearance  he  was  a  diminutive  little  chap, 
muscular  in  every  fibre,  quick  as  a  lizard,  and  with 
an  eye  that  was  as  keen  and  restless  as  that  ot  a 
black  snake. 

The  general  gave  Buckshot  his  orders;  told  him 
to  ascertain  if  the  ambulance  and  its  team  were  en- 
gaged for  the  morrow  ;  to  arrange  for  an  early  start ; 
provide  ammunition  and  luncheon ;  and  to  take 
Rowdy ;  and  meet  master  at  daybreak  at  the  hotel 
the  morning  following.  "All  right,  sir,"  said  Buck- 
shot, touching  his  cap  and  gliding  from  the  room. 
In  ten  minutes  Buckshot  was  back.  He  stood  up 
like  a  soldier  until  he  caught  the  general's  eye,  and 
then,  touching  his  cap  as  before,  he  said,  "  All  is 


Diomed  249 

arranged  as  ordered,  sir."  "  \'erv  well,  "i'ou  mav 
go,"  said  the  general,  and  he  proceeded  vvich  what 
he  was  saying  to  master. 

Now  that  is  the  wav  I  Hke  to  see  things  done. 
There  was  none  ot  that  babble  and  noise  one  hears 
among  civilians.  Everything  went  on  as  if  the 
place  moved  by  clock-work. 

The  general  was  telling  us  something  about  Buck- 
shot. He  told  us  that  he  was  one  of  the  most  valu- 
able scouts  in  the  service,  and  gave  many  instances 
of  his  cunning  and  daring  among  the  hostile  Indians 
when  they  were  in  the  Northwest.  "  But,"  added 
the  general,  "  Buckshot  has  always  been  so  passion- 
ately fond  ot  hunting  that  it  has  come  near  costing 
him  his  lite  on  several  occasions.  Once  when  we 
were  among  the  hostile  Indians  we  went  into  camp 
near  where  we  had  seen  a  large  number  of  elk.  I 
had  given  strict  orders  that  no  one  should  leave 
camp.  Disregarding  these  orders.  Buckshot  and 
two  companions  stole  away  after  the  elk.  The  next 
morning  they  were  missing.  The  next  day  Buck- 
shot alone  appeared.  He  and  his  party  had  fol- 
lowed the  game  so  tar  away  from  camp  that  they 
had  camped  out.  They  had  built  a  tire,  taken  off 
their  shoes,  and  gone  to  sleep.  Buckshot  was  such 
a  little  fellow  that  he  had  lain  between  his  two  com- 
panions, who  were  large  men,  to  keep  warm.  The 
Indians  discovered  them  by  the  smoke;  surrounded 
them,  tired  upon  them  as  they  slept,  and  killed  his 
two  companions.  Buckshot  lay  still  until  the 
Indians  rushed  up  ;  then  rising  suddenly,  he  sprang 
over  the  heads  of  the  stooping  Indians,  and  outrun- 
ning them,  in  his  stocking  feet,  escaped  in  the  dark- 


250  Diomed 

ness.  The  poor  little  tellow  paid  heavilv  tor  his 
disobedience,"  added  the  general.  "  The  pricklv 
pears  grew  very  thickly  in  the  place,  and,  running 
over  them  in  his  stocking  teet,  his  teet  were  literally 
filled  with  their  thorns  when  he  oyertook  us.  From 
where  his  party  was  surprised,  to  the  point  at  which 
he  ov^ertook  us  next  day,  it  was  nearly  forty  miles. 
He  was  halt  dead  from  exhaustion,  and  inflammation 
set  up  in  his  teet,  so  that  tor  a  long  time  we  teared 
amputation  would  be  necessary,  and  he  could  not 
walk  for  nearly  six  months.  But  it  did  not  aifect 
his  passion  tor  hunting  in  the  least,  and  to  this  day 
I  have  to  watch  Buckshot  all  the  time  to  restrain 
him."  With  stories  like  this  we  passed  a  pleasant 
afternoon.  Rowdy  and  I  were  good  friends,  and 
galloped  about  the  grounds  at  dress-parade.  When 
the  evening  gun  fired,  we  pranced  about  in  the 
smoke  ;  and  altogether  I  thought  this  a  tamous  spot. 
After  dining  with  the  general,  master  returned  to 
the  city.  Here,  instead  of  retiring,  we  amused  our- 
selves going  about  the  streets. 

In  the  plaza  we  tound  a  number  of  Mexicans 
with  high  hats  which  they  called  "  sombreros,"  and 
shawls  which  they  called  "  ponchos."  Thev  spread 
little  tables  and  sold  things  called  "  Hot  tamales," 
"  Chile  con  carno,"  "  Frejoles,"  and  "  Tortillas." 
Hot  tamales  were  a  sort  of  minced  meat,  filled  with 
pepper,  enveloped  in  corn  meal,  tied  up  in  corn 
shucks,  and  boiled.  Chile  con  carno  was  a  black 
stew  of  flesh,  cooked  with  chile  pepper.  Frejoles 
were  little  brown  beans  that  looked  like  waistcoat 
buttons  ;  and  tortillas  were  tough  thin  corn  cakes, 
something    like    Virginia    cookies.      The    Mexicans 


Diomed  251 

twist  these  up  into  the  shape  ot  a  spoon,  and  use 
them  to  eat  the  flesh  or  the  beans  ;  antl  when  thev 
finish  the  job,  thev  eat  the  spoon  also.  Master,  who 
always  had  a  great  deal  ot  curiosity,  tried  all  these 
thinn;s,  and  pronounced  them  verv  good  indeed;  but 
I  could  not  eat  them.  I  tried,  but  thev  nearly  burnt 
the  lining  out  of  mv  mouth.  While  we  were  stroll- 
ing about,  we  came  upon  a  noisy  place  into  which 
many  people  entered  and  from  which  others  were 
departing.  As  it  opened  upon  the  street,  with 
nothing  but  a  screen  to  obstruct  a  full  view  of  the 
interior,  we  entered.  I  found  it  full  of  people  and 
dogs.  The  room  was  very  large,  and  filled  with  all 
kinds  of  folks  playing  all  sorts  of  games.  I  don't 
know  the  names  of  these  games.  We  saw  red  and 
black  wheels  spinning  around;  and  men  sitting  with 
cards;  and  great  boards  with  numbers  and  pins  and 
holes;  and  flying  horses  which  stopped  at  winning 
numbers  ;  and  more  varieties  of  games  than  I  ever 
heard  of — all  going  in  full  blast.  Liquor  was  sold 
in  different  parts  of  the  room.  Great  piles  of  silver 
dollars  were  heaped  upon  the  gaming-tables.  The 
place  was  stifling  with  tobacco  smoke;  and  people, 
such  as  I  never  saw  before,  were  swarming  about  the 
tables  and  hurrying  back  and  forth.  There  were 
cowboys  in  black  hats  and  red  flannel  shirts  ;  and 
Indians  with  striped  blankets;  and  Mexicans  with 
their  broad  sombreros  and  ponchos ;  and  half-breeds, 
with  small-pox  marks  ;  and  negroes,  black  as  the 
soil  of  the  prairies  —  all  mixed  up  together  and  talk- 
ing languages  which  I  never  heard  before.  Now 
and  again,  deep  silence  would  fall  upon  a  group 
of  watchers,    followed    by    loud    exclamations    and 


252  Diomed 

laughter,  as  some  bettor  won  or  lost  heavily.  Master 
and  I  strolled  through  this  little  world  of  sin  ;  he 
watching  the  people  ;  and  I  principally  engaged  in 
smelling  strange  dogs,  and  avoiding  being  trodden 
under  the  feet  of  the  excited  crowd. 

I  had  several  invitations  to  fight,  but  avoided 
them.  It  seemed  to  me  that  it  was  a  very  easy 
thing  to  get  into  a  man  fight  or  a  dog  fight  in  that 
place  ;  and  it  was  with  a  decided  sense  of  relief  that 
I  found  mvselt  once  more  in  the  open  air,  bound 
for  our  hotel. 

Before  daybreak  we  were  aroused  by  a  servant 
who  fetched  a  tray  of  coffee  for  master.  Nobody 
does  anything  in  that  section  until  after  swallowing 
a  cup  of  coffee.  Master  was  soon  dressed  in  his 
shooting-clothes,  and  going  down  to  the  street,  we 
found  the  ambulance  awaiting  us.  Buckshot  and 
Rowdy  were  on  the  front  seat  with  the  driver.  We 
were  threatened  with  a  "  norther,"  as  the  rain  storms 
thereabouts  are  called,  and  the  night  air  was  chilly. 
The  ambulance  was  very  capacious,  and  Buckshot 
had  filled  it  with  a  number  of  thick  blankets  and  a 
pillow.  He  invited  master  to  stretch  himself  at 
length  in  the  bottom  of  the  ambulance,  wrap  him- 
self up  in  the  blankets,  and  take  an  additional  sleep, 
as  the  place  selected  for  shooting  was  some  distance 
from  town.  Now  this  was  what  I  call  hunting  in 
style.  As  soon  as  master  was  tucked  away  the 
team  started  at  a  rattling  pace  southward.  Our 
destination  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  place  called 
Floresville,  about  twenty-five  miles  south  of  San 
Antonio.  I  remained  awake  and  sat  up  in  the  front 
with   Rowdy.      I  felt  sure   master  would   not   sleep 


Diomed 


-5^ 


Icing.  He  had  too  much  curiositv  to  lose  any 
sights.  As  soon  as  it  grew  Ho;ht  enough  to  see  the 
country,  master  sat  up  and  entered  into  Hyely  con- 
versation with  Buckshot.  Buckshot  knew  every- 
thing about  the  country  and  pointed  out  many 
objects  ot  interest.  Among  other  curious  things 
which  we  saw  were  some  old  Mexican  Stations,  as 
they  are  called,  beintr  former   residences  of  Catholic 


Shooting  in  an  Army   Ambulance. 

priests   when  this   was  a   desert.      They  were  very 
antique  and  their  architecture  was  attractiv^e. 

The  country  was  rolling  prairie,  and  the  wood 
was  very  stunted.  The  principal  wood  was  mes- 
quite,  with  here  and  there  larger  trees  of  cottonwood 
or  sycamore.  Crossing  the  San  Antonio  River  at  a 
point  above  Floresville,  about  nine  o'clock,  we  left 
the  ambulance  and  began  our  hunt.  More  than 
once  on  our  way  to  the  hunting-ground  bevies  of 
birds  had  risen  trom  the  roadside.  Once  we  started 
two  bevies  at  about  the  same  time,  and  master  in- 


^54 


Di 


lomec 


sisted  that  we  ought  not  to  pass  by  such  a  promising 
piece  of  ground  ;  but  Buckshot  told  him  not  to  be 
impatient,  and  to  leave  the  selection  of  the  ground 
to  him,  because  he  knew  much  better  ground  than 
this. 

Our  attention  was  attracted  along  the  route  bv 
little  yellow  flags  fluttering  from  quite  a  number  of 
the  houses.  Master  asked  about  these,  and  Buck- 
shot told  him  in  a  very  indifi'erent  way  that  they 
indicated  the  presence  of  small-pox  on  the  premises 
where  they  were  displayed.  "  What !  "  cried  mas- 
ter. "  Have  you  a  small-pox  epidemic  here  ?  "  "  Oh 
no,"  said  he  ;  "  it  is  not  an  epidemic,  or  even  dan- 
gerous ;  but  there  is  always  more  or  less  of  small- 
pox among  these  dirty  wretches,"  and  he  treated  it 
as  if  small-pox  was  a  very  small  afi^air. 

Such  people  as  we  met  upon  the  roads  were  half- 
breeds  or  Mexicans.  They  were  ugly  ;  and  their 
beady  eyes  and  pock-marked  faces  and  strange  dress 
did  not  attract  me.  Few  of  them  looked  up  with 
smiling  faces,  or  greeted  us  as  people  do  when  one 
meets  them  in  dear  old  Virginia. 

Many  of  the  teams  were  made  up  of  oxen  ;  and 
the  horses,  while  tough  looking,  were  badly  shapen, 
and,  for  the  most  part,  ewe-necked.  They  showed 
their  descent  from  the  Mexican  mustang.  The 
sense  of  vastness  and  desolatioa  was  even  more  op- 
pressive than  on  the  western  prairies,  for  there  it 
had  been  relieved  by  the  green  and  flowers  of  sum- 
mer, while  here  everything  was  reduced  to  the  dead 
browns  of  mid-winter.  All  this  was  soon  forgotten, 
however,  in  the  joys  of  such  shooting  as  I  never 
had  before.     The  great  grassy  plain  was  broken  by 


Diomcd  2^;^; 

little  watered  ravines,  whose  sides  were  covered  with 
mesquite  thickets  and  cactus.  Innumerable  bevies 
of  quail  were  feeding  out  troni  the  mesquite  upon 
the  fields,  and  as  we  tound  bevy  after  bevy,  thev 
rose,  flew  down  these  depressions  through  the  mes- 
quite, and  scattered  in  the  high  grasses  along  the 
streams.  There,  among  the  scattered  birds,  it  we 
followed  them,  we  had  excellent  sport,  tor  the 
thickets  were  not  verv  close  ;  and,  if  we  did  not  fol- 
low them,  the  birds  soon  ran  together,  passed  back 
throuo;h  the  mesquite,  and  were  feeding  together 
again  in  half  an  hour  as  if  thev  had  never  been 
flushed.  Knowing  how  plentiful  thev  were.  Buck- 
shot was  opposed  to  following  scattered  birds,  and 
always  wanted  to  move  on  for  fresh  bevies ;  but 
master  insisted  upon  pursuing  the  single  birds,  say- 
ing they  presented  prettier  and  more  difficult  shots. 
It  amused  me  to  see  how  careful  Rowdy  was 
about  avoiding  cactus  plants  ;  but  I  appreciated  his 
conduct  when  I  incautiously  ran  against  one  of  the 
long  needles  which  grow  out  of  their  smooth  green 
discs.  It  penetrated  me  like  a  spear  and  hurt  very 
badly.  And  master,  notwithstanding  he  had  been 
warned  about  them,  forgot  himself  more  than  once, 
and  had  several  angry  red  spots  upon  his  knees  and 
thii^hs  for  some  days,  resulting  from  stabs  from 
these  cactus  needles.  They  stick  in  one's  flesh,  and 
the  point  breaks  off,  leaving  a  very  annoying  irrita- 
tion. Hunting  in  one  of  these  places  I  saw  Rowdy 
give  a  leap  as  if  he  was  on  springs,  and  then 
rush  back,  seize  something,  and  shake  it  as  if  his 
head  would  come  off.  A  large  rattlesnake  had 
struck  at  him.      He  was  accustomed  to  them,  and 


2^6  Diomed 

had  dodged  the  blow  ;  and  then,  before  his  snake- 
ship  could  gather  himself,  Rowdy  pinned  him  back 
of  his  head,  and  shook  him  to  death.  I  was  filled 
with  admiration  at  his  courage  and  his  skill,  but  he 
did  not  seem  to  consider  it  a  great  feat.  He  said 
that  anv  dog  could  do  it,  if  he  learned  the  knack  of 
it.  I  had  no  desire  to  learn  the  knack,  and  this 
episode  made  me  more  or  less  uneasy  during  the 
remainder  of  the  trip  ;  but  I  was  so  fortunate  as  not 
to  meet  with  a  snake.  Rowdy,  however,  seemed  to 
have  a  passion  for  them,  and  killed  several.  During 
the  course  of  the  afternoon  the  birds  seemed  to 
become  more  plentiful  than  ever.  I  witnessed  the 
spectacle  of  seven  bevies  of  quail  flying  in  different 
directions  at  the  same  time.  Almost  invariably  the 
persons  to  whom  I  have  stated  this  fact  have  doubted 
my  veracitv.  I  cannot  help  that.  I  state  it  as  a 
fact,  and  the  reader  must  decide  for  himselt  whether 
he  will  believe  me.  You  should  have  witnessed  one 
occurrence  with  master. 

We  had  been  shooting  along  the  edge  of  a  little 
ravine  for  a  long  time,  seeking  a  crossing-place,  so 
that  we  might  go  for  a  drink  of  water  to  a  house  on 
the  other  side  where,  in  the  yard,  we  saw  a  wind- 
mill pump.  The  surface  water  is  not  verv  good. 
At  last  we  found  a  crossing-place  and  approached 
the  house  from  the  rear.  No  signs  of  life  appeared 
about  the  premises  until,  as  we  neared  the  well  or 
pump,  we  saw  two  Mexicans  sitting  in  the  road 
which  passed  bv  the  front  yard.  They  w^re  bending 
over  a  little  fire,  wrapped  in  their  cloaks  ;  tor  the 
sky  was  overcast,  and  the  dav  was  chilly.  When 
they  saw  us,  thev  called  out  something  we  did  not 


Diomed  257 

understand.  Failing  to  make  themselves  intelligible, 
they  began  gesticulating  violently,  and  pointed 
towards  the  house.  By  this  time  we  had  advanced 
towards  the  water  sufficiently  near  to  get  a  sight  of 
the  front  of  the  house.  On  looking  where  the  men 
indicated,  we  saw,  not  thirty  yards  away,  the  hateful 
yellow  flag  indicating  the  presence  of  small-pox.  It 
is  unnecessary  to  say  that,  on  this  occasion  at  least, 
we  understood  Mexican  well  enough  to  "  vamose  " 
very  hurriedly.  When  we  rejoined  Buckshot,  he 
chuckled  a  quiet  little  laugh,  and  said,  "  Better  mind 
how  you  fool  around  a  Mexican's  house.  If  it  isn't 
small-pox,  it's  something  else.  He'll  put  six  inches 
of  cold  steel  into  you  before  you  know  it." 

Rabbits  of  all  kinds  were  very  plentiful  about  this 
place.  Jack  rabbits  and  little  Molly  Cottontails 
loped  and  dodged  about,  and,  besides  these,  I  saw 
others,  entirely  strange  to  me.  One  variety  was 
very  long  and  very  lean,  with  blackish  ears.  She 
ran  but  a  little  distance  at  a  time,  and,  when  she 
stopped  and  humped  herself  up,  she  looked  like  a 
skeleton  rabbit.  I  also  saw  several  Mexican  buz- 
zards, which  have  white  necks  and  red  heads,  and 
white  about  the  wings.  When  I  first  saw  one  of 
these,  I  thought  he  was  an  eagle  of  some  kind  ;  but 
they  told  me  he  was  nothing  but  a  buzzard,  and  a 
very  dirty  old  buzzard  at  that. 

The  number,  varietv,  and  boldness,  of  the  hawks, 
also  astonished  me.  During  the  whole  ciav  hawks 
were  in  sight.  Sometimes  perched  upon  solitary 
trees,  sometimes  ranging  the  fields,  sometimes 
poised  in  air,  balancing  while  they  scrutinized  the 
fields  below.      We  saw  one  hawk  strike  a  quail  that 


Diomed  i^g 

we  had  flushed,  and  flv  off  with  it.  But  the  height 
ot  audacity  was  reached  when  a  Mexican  goshawk, 
of  whose  presence  we  were  unaware,  actually  darted 
down  and  picked  up  a  bird  that  had  fallen  to  master's 
gun.  Master  had  discharged  both  barrels  when  this 
occurred,  but  he  reloaded  in  time.  As  the  ravenous 
creature  rose  with  steady  wing,  clutching  the  dead 
bird  in  his  claws,  master  knocked  the  life  out  of  him 
with  his  choke-bore.  He  fell  flat  on  his  back,  his 
talons  still  sunk  deep  into  the  bird;  and,  as  his 
wicked  eyes  were  still  full  ot  fierceness,  I  made  no 
attempt  to  retrieve  the  brace.  Master  crushed  his 
head  with  his  heel,  and,  as,  even  in  death,  the  hawk 
did  not  relax  his  grip  upon  his  victim,  we  took  the 
two  home,  thus  locked  together,  to  show  to  the 
general. 

After  a  full  day's  shooting,  we  regained  the  ambu- 
lance, and,  it  being  nearly  dark,  the  dogs  and  hunters 
curled  up  among  the  blankets,  and  were  all  sleeping 
soundly  when  the  driver  aroused  us,  and  told  us  we 
were  at  our  hotel. 

We  hunted  thus  for  several  days,  and  then  the 
general  brought  us  the  welcome  intelligence  that 
the  work  of  his  court  was  unexpectedly  concluded. 
He  and  master  went  to  Aransas  pass  for  ducks, 
intending  to  return  and  have  another  quail  hunt.  I 
was  left  with  Buckshot  and  Rowdy,  and  enjoyed 
their  society  very  much.  They  were  as  true  sports- 
men, man  and  dog,  as  I  ever  hunted  with. 

Upon  master's  return  he  brought  with  him  a 
large  number  of  geese  and  ducks,  but  found  tele- 
grams requiring  his  immediate  return.  As  a  severe 
norther  was  now  upon  us,  and  it  was  likely  to  con- 


iGo 


Diomed 


tinue  for  several  days,  it  seemed  idle  to  wait.  Once 
more  on  the  road,  the  next  Sunday  found  us  in  New 
Orleans.  I  dined  with  my  master  in  a  French  res- 
taurant, and  that  evening  we  started  for  Virginia. 

Imagine  my  pleasure  when,  on  our  return  trip, 
we  stopped  at  the  home  ot  our  old  friend  the  doctor 
in  Amelia  County,  and  found  Mr.  Selden  there 
awaiting  us  with  Dicky  Don.  In  this  county  the 
season  did  not  close  until  February  i,  and  Mr. 
Selden,  the  doctor,  and  master,  each  with  his  own 
dog,  had  three  days  of  as  good  sport  as  we  ever  had 
together. 

As  for  master  and  myself,  the  stories  we  told 
about  our  shooting  in  Texas  destroyed  almost  the 
last  vestige  of  our  reputations  for  truth  and  veracity. 


Mexican   Goshawk. 


Chapter    XVl 

(189.) 

A   Severe   Winter  —  Old   Ao;e  Approaches 
A   Season   ot   failures 


rM- 


HEN  our  partv  ot  three  congenial  men 
and  three  congenial  dogs  parted  company  in  Janu- 
ary, 1 891,  little  did  we  foresee  the  bad  weather  we 
were  to  have  during  February  and  March.  Decem- 
ber and  January  had  been  so  mild  that  e\'erybody 
was  commenting  upon  the  unusually  open  winter, 
unaware  ot  the  approach  ot  the  first  of  a  succession 
ot  severe  seasons  which  have  nearh'  exterminated 
small  game  in  our  locality.  But  we  were  not  long 
lett  in  ignorance.  Snowstorm  after  snowstorm 
swept  down  upon  us  ;   followed,  almost  invariably, 

261 


262  Diomed 

by  rain,  cold,  and  sleet.  By  the  time  one  snowfall 
had  frozen  upon  the  ground,  another  would  descend 
upon  it,  and,  followed  in  its  turn  by  rain  and  cold, 
form  an  overlying  armor  ot  ice.  Thus,  for  weeks, 
the  face  of  the  earth  was  covered  with  a  triple 
sheeting  which  completely  shut  off  the  small  game 
from  their  ordinary  means  of  subsistence. 

All  our  live-stock,  dogs  included,  were  well 
housed  during  this  long  period  of  cold,  wet,  and 
discomfort.  Out-of-door  lite  was  simply  unbearable. 
Our  large  kennel,  situated  near  the  kitchen,  was 
abundantly  supplied  with  straw,  and  everything  was 
done  for  our  comfort.  I  now  reaped  the  benefit  of 
a  life-long  fondness  for  the  young.  Dicky  Don 
disliked  puppies  and  had  a  way  of  snapping  at  them, 
or  getting  up  and  trotting  away  when  they  came 
about.  I,  on  the  contrary,  enjoyed  having  them 
about  me,  and  many  a  time  they  amused  themselves 
clambering  over  me,  pulling  at  my  ears  or  tail. 
During  this  cold  spell  they  were  a  real  comfort. 
Two  young  setter  pups,  about  tour  months  old, 
shared  my  box  and  kept  me  as  y^^arm  as  a  toast. 

Notwithstanding  these  cosey  bed-fellows,  I  came 
out  of  it  all  with  my  first  attack  of  rheumatism, 
which  made  me  limp  badly  for  several  months.  I 
was  now  an  old  dog,  being  nearly  nine  years  of  age. 
Up  to  that  time  I  had  never  suffered  from  any  serious 
indisposition,  and  I  know  that  I  was  not  a  patient 
invalid.  When  those  rascally  pups  would  come  in, 
wet  and  frolicsome,  and  tumble  all  over  me,  I  would 
protest,  and  order  them  to  desist,  in  a  tone  that 
made  them  look  up  with  surprise  to  see  their  easy- 
going old  triend  so  petulant. 


Dionicd  26^ 

Ah  me  !  Old  age  must  come  to  all  ot  us.  It  is 
not  a  welcome  guest,  I  think,  under  any  circum- 
stances. Particularly  unwelcome  was  it  to  one  who 
led  my  active  life ;  had  enjoyed  such  health  and 
strength  ;  had  done  so  much  hard  work  ;  and  was 
so  dependent  upon  activity  tor  happiness. 

I  had  realized  its  coming  tor  some  time,  and  had 
resolved  to  recognize  its  arrival  philosophically,  and 
treat  it  with  civility.  I  had  often  said  to  myself  that 
when  I  grew  old  I  would  not  act  like  those  pitiful 
old  creatures  we  sometimes  see,  who  do  not  grace- 
fully accept  the  inevitable  ;  and  who,  in  spite  of 
decrepitude  visible  to  everybody  but  themselves, 
try  to  carry  it  off  with  the  airs  and  graces  of  youth, 
and  make  themselves  ridiculous.  But,  atter  all,  in 
spite  of  all  philosophy,  what  a  cunning  and  insidi- 
ous thing,  in  its  approach,  is  this  old  age.  How  it 
steals  upon  you  in  the  night.  How  carefully  it 
looks  you  over  before  it  strikes.  Confronting  you 
like  a  cunning  antagonist,  it  fences  cautiously  until 
it  sees  where  your  guard  is  weak  ;  it  toys  and  feels 
with  its  point,  for  some  opening  where,  in  careless 
youth,  you  removed  the  shield  of  health,  and  did 
not  replace  it  ;  and  then,  when  the  spot  is  found, 
with  quick  and  unerring  thrust,  it  pinks  you — this 
wilv  and  indomitable  old  age. 

Master  says  that  old  men,  from  Cicero  to  Brown- 
ing, have  endeavored  to  console  themselv^es  for 
being  old,  and  to  delude  themselves  by  claiming 
that  the  wisdom,  the  experience,  the  good  con- 
science, and  the  hope  for  the  future,  of  virtuous  old 
age,  are  more  than  the  equivalent  ot  lost  youth. 
Bah  !      If  these  memoirs  only  chronicled  the  events 


264  Diomed 

of  my  old  age,  they  would  be  a  wretched  record  of 
decaying  energies.  I  write  them  for  the  consolations 
coming  from  the  memories  of  departed  youth  —  the 
only  joy  that  is  left  to  me. 

It  may  be  otherwise  with  men,  but  a  dog  has  no 
such  consolations  as  they  claim,  for  lost  youth. 
His  wisdom  and  his  experience  are  worthless  to 
him  when  his  physical  strength  to  utilize  them  is 
gone.  Men  say  he  has  no  conscience  to  console 
him.  As  to  his  hopes  of  the  future,  he  has  no 
other  than  that  his  poor  cadaver  may  be  decently 
put  away,  where  vultures  will  not  dismember  it, 
when  the  vital  spark  has  fled.  Even  this  solitary 
hope  is  often  coupled  with  the  apprehension  that 
the  man  for  whom  he  has  lived,  the  man  whose 
own  hopes  of  the  future  are  based  upon  faith  in  a 
Divine  remembrance  of  his  loyalty,  and  a  Divine 
appreciation  of  his  own  lifelong  service,  may  so  far 
forget  the  lifelong  service  of  his  dog,  that  he  will 
permit  his  carcass  to  be  flayed,  and  his  skin  sold 
to  a  tanner  for  a  trifle. 

Dogs  have  died  for  grief  upon  the  graves  of 
their  masters.  Every  day  we  hear  of  human  lives 
saved  by  dogs  ;  and,  not  unfrequently,  of  dogs 
whose  lives  are  sacrificed  in  saving  their  masters. 
Those  are  the  young  dogs,  no  doubt.  When  dogs 
grow  old,  they  are  worthless  in  this  world  ;  and, 
when  they  die,  that  is  the  end  of  them.  In  many 
instances,  even  before  the  old  dog  dies,  the  services 
of  his  youth  are  forgotten;  and  the  man  he  served 
best  awaits  his  demise  with  ill-concealed  impatience. 
There  is,  however,  I  observe,  little  diflerence  be- 
tween man  and  dog  in  the  tenacity  with  which  both 


Diomed  265 

cling  to  lite.  The  hict  is  remarkable  considering 
how  much  good  men  expect  hereafter,  and  that 
nothing  awaits  good  dogs. 

Dropping  philosophical  reflection,  let  us  return 
to  facts.  When  old  age  was  ready  to  look  into  mv 
case,  and  inspected  me  to  see  where  it  should  as- 
sail me,  it  went  straight  to  the  shoulder  which  I 
wrenched  in  Minnesota.  I  had  nursed  it  carelessly  ; 
paid  little  attention  to  the  recurring  pains  that  had 
lingered  about  it  from  time  to  time  ;  and  had  gone 
on  running  upon  it,  as  it  it  would  heal  itself,  no 
matter  what  I  did.  Now  I  learned  mv  mistake. 
For  several  weeks  during  this  severe  winter,  the 
soreness  was  so  great  that  J  could  move  about  but 
little.  The  cold  pierced  me,  and  it  was  onlv  when 
the  puppies  came  and  overlaid  the  place  with  their 
warm  bodies,  that  I  was  free  from  racking  pain. 
Confined  to  mv  box,  my  principal  information  as  to 
what  was  going  on  upon  the  farm,  was  derived  from 
such  conversation  as  I  overheard  among  the  ser- 
vants at  the  kitchen.  The  farm  hands,  who  came 
up  dripping  with  rain  or  shaking  off  the  snow,  re- 
ported that  thev  found  many  quail  and  hares  frozen 
to  death  ;  and  that  even  the  hardier  birds,  such  as 
larks  and  crows,  were  found  starved  or  too  weak  to 
fly  awav.  Mr.  Selden  caused  the  snow  to  be  re- 
moved trom  the  earth,  and  scattered  grain  upon  the 
ground,  at  several  points  about  the  plantation.  To 
such  places  birds  ot  manv  kinds  came,  from  far  and 
near ;  but  another  flurrv  of  snow  would  soon  oblit- 
erate these  spots,  and  manv  birds  were  dead  before 
relief  came.  Spring  opened  late.  To  acid  to  the 
already  discouraging  outlook  for  ganie,  heavy  rains 


266  Diomed 

fell  almost  continuously  during  the  hatching  season, 
destroying  the  nests,  or  drowning  the  young  birds. 

At  harvest  time,  that  luxuriant  period  when  the 
throaty  voice  of  Bob  White  sounds  his  joyous  note 
of  domestic  happiness  far  and  near,  we  seldom  heard 
his  call.  Even  more  rarely  did  we  come  upon  bevies 
of  young  birds  in  our  rambles  about  the  fields.  The 
chief  satisfaction  I  had  from  the  return  of  warmth 
and  sunlight  was  the  disappearance  of  my  rheumatic 
troubles.  As  the  autumn  approached,  the  outlook 
for  sport  was  so  discouraging  that  I  doubted  whether 
master  would  pay  us  his  accustomed  visit.  But  he 
came.  His  attempts  at  shooting  were  such  failures 
that  they  are  only  worth  recording  because  they  were 
so  ludicrous.  He  made  two  attempts  that  fall.  His 
first  visit  was  in  company  with  my  dear  friend  the 
doctor,  from  Philadelphia,  and  an  old  gentleman 
from  the  far  North.  The  latter  was  the  oldest 
man  I  ever  followed  afield.  He  said  he  was  sev- 
enty-seven years  old.  Now  think  of  that !  They 
called  him  Judge. 

When  we  met  them  at  the  train,  and  he  stepped 
off,  I  said  to  myself,  "  Why,  this  must  be  the  van- 
guard of  the  resurrection."  I  could  not  believe  he 
seriously  intended  to  try  all-day  sport.  But  when 
we  went  out  next  day,  I  found  the  old  judge  was 
very  spry.  He  rode  his  horse  and  kept  up  with  the 
party  in  most  surprising  fashion.  One  of  his  pe- 
culiarities afforded  us  all  much  amusement.  He 
wore  a  wig,  and  he  shot  with  glasses,  and  he  used 
a  very  heavy  charge  of  ammunition.  With  every- 
thing adjusted  he  saw  pretty  well,  and  was  an  un- 
usually good   shot.     Trouble  began  when  his  gun 


Diomed 


267 


went  olf.  It  was  so  heavily  loaded  that  it  jarred  his 
spectacles  out  of  place,  and  they  in  turn  upset  his 
wig.  He  was,  so  to  speak,  shaken  up,  and  had  to 
readjust  himself.  He  was  particularly  anxious  to 
keep  his  wig  straight,  and  it  often  tell  over  one  eye. 
By  the  time  his  gun  exploded  he  would  drop  it  into 
the  bend  ot  his  arm,  carry  both  hands  to  his  wig, 
and,  while  rearranging  his  wig  and  restoring  his 
ejlasses  to  tocus,  would,  with   an   excited  and  bewil- 


Dld   I   hit   him?' 


dered  look,  inquire  eagerly,  "  Did  I  hit  him?"  The 
little  doctor  was  a  very  courteous  man,  and  a  very 
quiet  one  ;  but,  withal,  possessed  a  lively  apprecia- 
tion of  the  ridiculous.  Not  knowing  the  judge 
intimately,  he  was  not  as  circumspect  in  his  be- 
havior towards  him  as  master.  Master,  with  an 
equally  keen  sense  ot  humor,  admired  the  judge, 
and  would  not  have  wounded  him  by  merriment  at 
his  expense  for  any  consideration.  But  we  all  know 
how,  in  some  situations,  we  become  so  overwhelmed 


268  Diomed 

with  the  feehng  of  the  kidicrous,  that  we  cannot  re- 
strain ourselves,  and  break  down  every  barrier  of 
propriety.  When  the  dear  old  judge  made  his  first 
shot,  was  thrown  out  of  gear,  uttered  his  first  in- 
quirv,  and  entered  upon  his  first  readjustment,  the 
doctor  gave  a  glance  of  mingled  astonishment  and 
amusement  at  master  ;  but  master  refused  to  respond 
to  it  and  nodded  his  head  repressinglv  at  the  doctor. 
Each  time  the  thing  was  repeated,  the  doctor  became 
more  and  more  amused  ;  and  master,  in  spite  of  him- 
self, at  last  gave  way  to  his  feelings,  so  that  every 
shot  was  followed  by  such  bursts  of  laughter,  or 
snorts  of  repressed  hilarity  from  himself  and  the 
doctor,  that  it  is  remarkable  it  the  judge  did  not 
understand  their  meaning.  To  this  day,  when 
master  and  the  doctor  hunt  together,  one  or  the 
other  is  sure  to  exclaim  sometime  during  the  day, 
"  Did  I  hit  him  ?  "  and  go  through  the  old-time 
pantomime,  to  the  amusement  of  the  other. 

That  night  I  was  permitted  to  go  up  into  the 
judge's  room,  where  he  made  a  famous  Medtord 
rum  punch.  When  the  others  retired  to  prepare 
for  supper,  he  produced  a  combing-block  from  his 
portmanteau,  removed  his  wig,  placed  it  on  the 
block,  and  sat  down  in  a  rocking-chair.  The  sup- 
per-bell rang.  I  heard  it,  but  he  did  not.  I  went 
to  the  door  just  as  it  was  opened  by  Emma,  a  col- 
ored house-girl,  who  had  been  sent  up  to  inform  him 
supper  was  ready.  I  passed  out.  The  lamp  was 
burning  low,  and  the  old  gentleman  sat  there  hold- 
ing the  block  in  his  lap,  and  carefully  brushing  his 
wig  in  front  of  the  bright  fire,  his  head  as  smooth 
as  a  billiard-ball.      As  1  descended  the  stairs,  Emma 


Diomed 


269 


hurriedly  overtook  me,  and  we  reached  the  dining- 
room  door  together.  "  Did  you  tell  the  judge 
that  tea  is  ready  ? "  inquired  the  ladv  of  the 
house.  "Yes'm,"  said  Kmma,  "  I  dun  told  him, 
Miss  Mary;  but  fo'  de  Lord,  he's  a  settin'  dar  wid 
his  head  in  his  lap  a  combin'  of  it." 

When  that  came  out,  I   thought   master  and  the 


"He's  a   settin'    dar   wid   his   head   in   his  lap." 

doctor  would  have  spasms.  It  was  with  the  great- 
est difficulty  that  they  repressed  their  hilarity  when 
the  judge  gravely  entered.  Evidently  Emma  was 
much  surprised  to  see  his  head  back  in  its  accus- 
tomed place  and  his  hair  beautifully  arranged. 

"  How  did  Di  hunt  to-day  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Selden 
of  the  doctor,  by  way  of  diverting  his  thoughts  from 
the  head  of  the  judge,  when  they  were  seated  at  the 
supper  table.      Mr.  Selden  had  been  indisposed  and 


270  Diomed 

had  not  accompanied  us  on  our  hunt,  but  expected 
to  do  so  on  the  morrow.  "  Very  well  indeed,"  re- 
plied the  doctor.  "  But  the  old  fellow  begins  to 
show  age.  Do  vou  notice  how  gray  he  Is  about  the 
muzzle  ?  He  hunted  all  day,  but  he  has  not  the 
stride  of  former  years  ;  and  towards  night  I  noticed 
that  he  limped  in  his  left  fore-leg.  1  don't  believe 
the  old  man  is  as  vigorous  as  tormerlv,  or  that  he 
could  stand  a  week's  hard  work  without  feeling  it,  as 
heretofore."  Then  Mr.  Selden  told  him  of  my  at- 
tack of  rheumatism.  "  You  are  not  as  young  your- 
self, doctor,  as  you  were  when  I  first  saw  you," 
thought  I  to  myself.  Then  he  was  a  pink  boy 
with  glad  eyes.  Now,  he  was  a  man  whose  youth- 
ful complexion  was  gone,  after  seven  years  of  doc- 
tor's work  night  and  day  ;  and  those  eyes  had,  in 
that  period,  looked  into  too  many  suffering  and  dead 
faces  to  retain  their  old-time  gladness. 

Things  had  moved  off  very  well  that  day.  We 
were  all  agreeably  surprised  at  the  number  of  birds 
we  found  ;  and  the  evening  was  passed  in  planning 
for  two  hunting-parties  on  the  morrow.  Dicky  Don, 
his  master's  pet,  had  remained  at  home  with  him,  and 
he  would  be  fresh  and  keen  for  sport.  But  that 
morrow,  looked  forward  to  with  so  much  pleasure 
that  night,  never  came.  It  was  the  days  of  grippe. 
Everybody  who  was  anybody  had  the  grippe.  Dur- 
ing the  niQ;ht  the  wind  shifted  to  the  northeast.  It 
turned  cold.  When  daybreak  came,  a  penetrating, 
marrow-chilling  storm  was  raging,  banging  shutters, 
throwing  the  rain  in  sheets  against  the  window-panes, 
and  putting  all  out-door  exercise  out  of  the  question. 
Both  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Selden  were  confined  to   their 


Diomed  271 

beds  by  grippe.  A  little  grandchild  of  Mary  Anne, 
the  nurse,  had  died,  during  the  night,  at  one  of  the 
farm  out-houses.  Billy,  the  hostler,  came  in  through 
the  storm,  to  say  that  a  message  had  just  come  from 
his  uncle,  who  lived  on  one  of  the  neighboring  farms, 
informing  him  that  he  was  in  extremis.  He  asked 
leave  to  take  a  horse  and  visit  him.  Our  breakfast 
was  gloomy  enough  in  the  gray  morning,  without 
host  or  hostess,  amid  such  depressing  occurrences 
and  with  the  cold  storm  beating  outside.  Have  you 
ever  observed  —  of  course  you  have  —  how,  when  a 
series  of  mishaps,  like  these,  begins,  one  thing  fol- 
lows another,  until  you  ask  yourself,  "  Well !  what 
next?"      This  was  a  morning  of  that  sort. 

Within  an  hour  atter  breakfast  a  telegram  for  the 
doctor  was  brought  up  from  the  station,  announcing 
that  a  patient  whom  he  had  left  convalescent,  had 
suffered  a  relapse,  and  demanding  his  immediate  re- 
turn. The  train  for  Richmond  passed  at  four  p.m. 
Before  that  hour  arrived,  another  message  came ; 
this  time  to  master,  informing  him  that  his  presence 
was  required,  forthwith,  at  Pittsburg.  Thus,  by  a 
curious  coincidence  of  things,  our  party,  which, 
twenty-four  hours  before,  seemed  destined  to  remain 
united  and  to  have  a  pleasant  hunt,  was  completely 
broken  up.  Nothing  was  left  for  the  judge  to  do 
but  to  return  to  his  home,  for  even  his  host  was 
unable  to  entertain  him. 

For  several  weeks  our  house  was  a  hospital.  At 
one  time  all  the  servants,  including  the  cook,  as  well 
as  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Selden,  were  ill ;  and,  before  grippe 
released  its  hold  upon  Snowden,  the  best  of  the 
hunting  season  was  over.     But  I  fancy  our  shooting 


272  DIomed 

would  have  been  poor  at  best ;  for  those  who  did 
hunt  reported  that  the  number  of  bh-ds  found  was 
very  small.  Our  success  on  the  dav  we  went  out  was 
probably  due  to  the  approaching  nor'easter.  Every 
old  sportsman  kno  vvs  that  the  birds  are  out  filling  their 
crops  just  before  a  storm,  so  that  they  may  huddle 
themselves  in  some  protected  spot  while  it  rages. 

Unable  to  return  to  Mr.  Selden's  on  account  of 
the  sickness  prevailing  there,  master  made  a  second 
attempt  at  hunting  in  December.  This  time  we 
went  first  to  Williamsburg,  where  his  brother  re- 
sides. It  had  been  reported  to  us  that  the  birds 
had  not  suffered  as  much  during  the  preceding 
winter  in  the  tide-water  sections  as  in  piedmont  Vir- 
ginia. But  ill-luck  again  pursued  us.  One  day  we 
tried  a  farm  called  Porto-Bello,  where,  in  years  gone 
by,  I  had  found  birds  in  great  numbers  ;  but  rain 
interrupted  us,  and  birds  were  scarce.  The  next 
day  we  went  to  Kelton  and  Toano,  two  favorite 
shooting-grounds,  but  with  the  same  result.  Our 
next  attempt  was  at  a  farm  called  Neck-of-Land,  im- 
mediately opposite  historic  Jamestown,  and  here  we 
had  a  great  day's  sport,  the  only  good  day's  shooting 
we  had  in  the  season  of  1891.  Having  exhausted 
this  locality  in  one  day,  master  resolved  to  try  the 
peninsula,  lying  between  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  the 
Chesapeake  Bay,  known  as  the  Eastern  Shore  of 
Virginia  ;  and,  going  to  Fortress  Monroe,  we  crossed 
the  bay  to  Northampton  County,  and  hunted  down 
to  Cape  Charles,  on  the  bay  side.  In  a  whole  day's 
hunt  in  Northampton,  we  found  but  three  bevies  of 
birds  and  two  woodcock.  It  did  seem  as  if  the 
quails  had  been  almost  entirely  destroyed.     The  next 


Diomed 


273 


day  we  hunted  up  the  peninsula,  on  the  sea  side, 
but  found  no  more  birds  than  the  day  before.  The 
only  compensation  for  our  disappointments  was  in 
visiting  our  old  friends,  one  ot  whom  gave  master 
a  great  terrapin  supper. 

Despairing  ot  sport,  master  shipped  me  back  to 
Snowden  by  express,  and  took  the  train  for  New 
York,  thus  closing  the  most  unsatisfactory  autumn 
of  my  life. 

It  grieved  me  when  I  read  this  entry  in  his  diary  : 

"  Di  hunted  very  well,  but  shows  unmistakable 
signs  ot  ao;e.  I  fear  this  is  his  last  season.  He  has 
now  hunted  steadily  for  seven  years.     A  poor  year's 

sport.      Only birds  tor  self  and  companions  in 

a  whole  shooting  season." 

Disagreeable  subjects  should  be  quickly  dismissed. 
Thus  ended  the  year  1891.  The  next  year  was 
better,  and  I  forced  my  master  to  write,  "  Di,  now 
in  his  tenth  year,  hunts  like  a  three-vear-old." 


Chapter  XVII 

(1892) 

Dick's   Illness  —  Terrapin   Neck 
Hunting 


Turkev- 


my  surprise  and    great   relief,    I  ex- 
perienced no  return  of  niv  old  eneniv 
rheumatism    during    the   winter    of    1 891-2,   which 
was  much  milder  than  its  predecessor. 

As  the  autumn  of  1892  approached,  I  felt  as  if 
I  was  enjoying  a  new  lease  of  life.  Not  so  with 
Dicky  Don.  He  was  attacked  by  a  disease,  preva- 
lent that  year,  the  symptoms  and  treatment  of  which 
seemed  to  be  equally  unknown  to  every  one.  It 
appeared  in  the  form  of  a  hacking  cough,  followed 
by  dryness  and  blackness  of  the  tono;ue,  constant 
gagging,    loss    of  appetite,    and    rapid    emaciation. 


Diomed  275 

It  almost  invariably  culminated  in  complete  paraly- 
sis of  the  throat,  inability  to  take  nourishment  of 
any  kind,  and  death  from  depletion.  We  first 
heard  of  it  as  an  epidemic  upon  the  neighboring 
plantations,  up  and  down  the  riv^er.  Many  of  the 
neighbors  reported  the  loss  of  their  best  hunting- 
dogs.  Mr.  Selden  at  once  took  precautions  against 
it.  He  fed  us  upon  light  diet,  and  kept  our  drink- 
ing-pans  filled  with  powdered  sulphur.  Sulphur  is, 
beyond  doubt,  the  best  friend  of  the  dog  in  the 
whole  list  of  medicines.  And  tar,  horrible  as  is  its 
taste  and  smell,  is  another  good  old-fashioned  rem- 
edy for  dog  ailments.  The  liberal  use  of  sulphur 
and  of  tar  produces  better  results,  I  believe,  than 
all  the  new-tangled  dog  medicines  resorted  to  of 
late  years.  It  was  difficult  to  feel  that  way,  how- 
ever, when  Booker  came  around,  with  a  little 
bucket  and  a  wooden  paddle,  and  smeared  our 
noses  with  tar.  We  went  about  the  place  licking 
our  noses  and  sneezing,  and  were  driven  out  of  the 
house,  and  off  the  veranda,  whenever  we  appeared 
in  either  place.  That  is,  all  of  us  but  Master 
Dicky  Don.  He  slept  in  his  master's  room,  and 
so  escaped  the  smearing  of  tar,  and  had  all  the 
water  he  wanted,  without  sulphur.  In  his  case  it 
certainly  proved  to  be  a  mistaken  kindness.  Every 
dog  on  the  place  escaped  the  disease  except 
poor  Dicky  Don.  He,  on  the  contrary,  soon  de- 
veloped a  virulent  attack  of  the  prevailing  malady. 
How  often  is  partiality  of  this  kind  in  parents  and 
masters  thus  repaid  !  Dick  was  a  year  younger 
than  myself;  but,  like  me,  he  had  passed  the  time 
of  life  when   the  constitution   can   resist    and   rally 


276  Diomed 

from  severe  strains  as  it  could  in  the  davs  of  youth. 
Day  by  day  he  grew  worse.  The  anxiety  of  the 
whole  household  concerning  him  was  truly  touch- 
ing. His  master  and  mistress  prepared  a  soft  bed 
for  him  in  their  room  ;  and  nursed  him  as  if  he  had 
been  a  human  being.  Warm  gruels  and  broths 
were  served  for  him,  as  if  he  had  been  the  most  dis- 
tinguished member  of  the  family.  His  medicines 
were  administered  with  scrupulous  regard  to  time 
and  amount.  The  other  dogs  were  rigorously  ex- 
cluded from  the  house,  not  only  to  prevent  his  being 
disturbed,  but  lest  they  catch  the  infection  them- 
selves. 

One  day  there  was  hurrying  back  and  forth 
about  the  house.  The  rumor  reached  us  that  poor 
Dicky  Don  was  dying.  I  approached  the  house  as 
near  as  I  dare  go,  and  watched.  Mr.  Selden  and 
Booker  lifted  him  out  of  the  house  between  them, 
upon  the  sunny  porch.  Poor  fellow  !  How  thin 
and  emaciated  he  seemed.  His  eyes,  once  so  bright 
and  glittering,  were  closed.  Mrs.  Selden  followed, 
bearing  his  bedding,  which  she  carefully  spread 
upon  a  sunny  spot.  They  laid  Dickv  gently  down 
upon  his  pallet.  No  motion  of  his  body  was  vis- 
ible, not  even  his  breathing,  his  heart  beat  so 
feebly.  His  master  and  mistress  stood  watching 
him,  their  eyes  filled  with  tears.  We  all  thought 
that  he  was  dying.  They  wanted  him  to  breathe 
his  last  in  the  open  air,  in  sight  of  the  beautiful 
valley,  and  the  blue  hills,  across  which  he  had 
ranged  from  his  earliest  youth  until  now.  It  was 
indeed  a  lovely  place  and  time  to  die.  The  last 
days  of  summer    had   passed   away.      The   reviving 


Diomed  277 

breath  of  autumn  was  in  the  air.  From  every  hill- 
top, and  on  the  distant  river  bluffs,  the  banners  of 
the  autumn  foliage  were  flaming  above  the  gauzy 
mists  of  Indian  summer,  which  faintly  veiled  the 
yellowing  stubbles  in  the  bottom  lands.  "  Poor 
Dicky!"  thought  I.  "We  will  miss  him  sadly 
here.  When  he  is  gone,  no  one  will  be  left  to  take 
his  place.  But  he  will  reach  the  happy  hunting- 
ground  just  as  the  season  opens." 

Now  that  last  thought  was  an  odd  and  untimely 
conceit,  was  it  not  ?  Yet  it  is  often  the  fact  that, 
in  the  hour  of  deepest  trouble,  just  such  vagaries 
come  over  us  with  which  we  seek  to  comfort  our- 
selves. It  is  as  if  nature,  ever  striking  us  with  one 
hand,  with  the  other  pours  balm  upon   the  wound. 

But  dear  old  Dicky  did  not  go  to  the  happy 
hunting-grounds  that  fall.  The  fresh  air  and  sun- 
light revived  him.  He  sneezed,  and  showed  other 
unmistakable  signs  of  vitality.  He  was  too  weak 
to  rise ;  but  he  opened  his  eyes  as  if  to  give  assur- 
ance that  he  was  not  yet  a  dead  dog  by  any  means. 
He  was  so  far  recuperated  that  his  master  was  en- 
abled to  administer  some  sustenance  ;  and  from 
that  hour  he  began  to  recover,  much  to  the  joy  of 
every  one.  It  was  almost  miraculous.  He  had 
gone  to  the  very  verge  of  life.  But  he  was  still 
very  low.  Day  after  day,  during  the  midday  hours, 
thev  lifted  him  out  gently,  and  permitted  him  to 
lie  in  the  sunlight.  When  he  grew  better  he  made 
signs  of  recognition  to  us  by  teebly  beating  upon 
the  porch  with  his  tail ;  and,  at  last,  one  day,  atter 
weeks  of  utter  prostration,  he  surprised  his  dog 
friends  by  rising  to  his  feet  and  endeavoring  to  join 


ayS  Diomed 

us  where  we  lay  basking  upon  the  greensward  in  the 
yard.  The  sight  of  him,  staggering  to  the  steps 
and  attempting  to  descend,  was  distressing.  I  rose, 
and  would  have  joined  him,  to  assist  him  ;  but, 
before  I  could  do  so,  his  legs  gave  way  beneath 
him,  and  he  tumbled  headlong  to  the  bottom  of  the 
steps.  Booker,  aroused  bv  the  noise,  came  out 
from  the  butler's  pantry  and  lifted  him  gently  back 
to  his  couch.  When  Mr.  Selden  heard  of  this  he 
was  rejoiced,  looking  upon  it  as  a  sure  sign  of  re- 
turning vitality.  It  was  many  a  day  before  Dicky 
Don  regained  his  health  sufficiently  to  go  afield.  I 
think  his  first  attempt  at  hunting  was  late  in  De- 
cember ;  and,  even  when  apparently  quite  recovered, 
he  never  again  set  that  killing  pace  which,  in  his 
youth  and  strength,  was  too  fast  and  untiring  for 
all  competitors.  I  never  afterwards  considered  that 
he  was  his  old  self;  and  two  years  later  he  passed 
away. 

Early  in  November  Booker  was  dusting  an  empty 
express  crate.  I  knew  this  meant  that  I  was  to  oc- 
cupy it  and  start  to  join  my  master  somewhere.  He 
was,  it  seems,  under  engagement  to  spend  the  first 
of  this  year's  vacation  with  our  friends  the  Taylors, 
of  Amelia.  Of  one  of  these  —  Dr.  Armistead  Tay- 
lor—  we  already  know.  He  lived  at  Dykeland. 
His  brother  George  resided  at  Terrapin  Neck.  If 
anybody  had  told  me  that  I  would  write  sixteen 
chapters  of  my  hunting  reminiscences  without  men- 
tioning George  Taylor's  name,  or  describing  Terra- 
pin Neck,  I  would  not  have  believed  it  possible. 
From  the  year  1884,  when  we  spent  ten  days  with 
him   and  his  setters,  Brat  and    Babe,  and   killed  so 


Diomed  179 

many  birds  that  master  inscribed  their  number  on  a 
silver  match-box  and  sent  it  to  him,  I  had  cherished 
Mr.  Taylor  as  one  of  our  staunchest  friends  ;  and 
counted  his  dogs  among  our  old  reliables.  Terra- 
pin Neck  was  a  place  difficult  to  reach,  being  four- 
teen miles  from  the  railroad.  But  once  reached,  it 
was  as  difficult  to  leave ;  tor  it  was  the  abode  of 
everything  a  sportsman  loves. 

Under  one  root  were  three  generations  of  sports- 
men. Doctor  Richard  Taylor  had  lived  in  Amelia 
County  nearlv  seventy  years  when  I  first  met  him. 
He  was  a  great  grandson  of  Colonel  William  Byrd, 
the  3d,  who  commanded  one  of  Virginia's  regi- 
ments in  the  Revolutionarv  War,  and  thus  he  was 
descended  from  the  first  and  second  William  Bvrd 
of  Westover,  whose  names  are  so  intimatelv  asso- 
ciated with  that  of  Old  Virginia  in  the  palmiest  days 
ot  her  colonial  glory.  For  fifty  years  the  doctor, 
living  on  the  soil  of  his  ancestors,  had  been  a  prac- 
tising physician  in  Amelia.  In  that  time  he  had 
become  not  only  the  phvsician,  but  the  friend  and 
adviser  of  everybodv  in  the  countv.  Above  all,  in 
my  estimation,  he  was  the  most  ardent  of  sportsmen. 
When  I  first  knew  him  he  still  practised  medicine 
daily,  upon  horseback  ;  and,  although  he  had  given 
up  quail-shooting  because  it  was  too  hard  work,  he 
still  hunted  deer  and  turkeys,  and  thought  nothing 
of  standing  for  hours  upon  a  runwav  or  getting  up 
before  daylight  and  lying  in  a  turkey-blind  until 
midday.  He  could  make  the  best  turkey-calls  I 
ever  saw.  Sometimes  they  were  contrived  out  of 
turkey  bone  and  boxwood;  sometimes  of  cigar-box 
and  slate ;  and,  whether  with  the  one  or  the  other, 


28o  Diomed 

it  mattered  not  which,  the  doctor  could  imitate  the 
call  of  the  turkey  in  such  fashion  that  he  could 
deceive  any  man,  or  any  turkey,  living. 

A  widower,  he  lived  with  his  son  George,  sur- 
rounded by  his  grandchildren.  Of  these  there  were 
eight,  the  oldest  boy  bearing  his  grandfather's  name. 
If  any  one  had  doubted  that  the  passion  for  hunting 
is  hereditary,  a  sight  of  the  doctor,  his  son  George, 
and  his  grandson  Dick,  together,  would  have  been 
sufficient  to  convince  him. 

The  section  abounded  in  game.  Since  the  decline 
of  agriculture  consequent  upon  the  war,  deer  had 
greatly  multiplied;  wild  turkeys  were  almost  as 
plentiful  as  tame  ones  ;  quail  were  found  in  every 
cultivated  field  ;  and  rabbits  everywhere. 

An  evening  at  Terrapin  Neck  in  the  autumn 
season,  usually  found  the  father,  son,  and  grandson 
in  the  old  doctor's  room,  devising  contrivances  for 
hunting.  There  was  the  doctor,  with  his  ever-sharp 
knife,  whittling  away  upon  his  latest  turkey-call,  or 
carving  his  latest  powder-horn,  —  tor  he  still  used 
the  muzzle-loading  rifle  upon  deer,  —  and  there  was 
George  Taylor,  cleaning  the  guns  or  loading  car- 
tridges for  quail ;  and  there  was  young  Dick,  work- 
ing industriously  upon  some  newly  devised  trap  or 
snare  ;  all  of  them  as  intent  as  if  their  success  in  lite 
depended  upon  the  work  in  hand  ;  and  all  as  happy 
as  if  the  grand  old  man  was  now,  as  he  once  had  been, 
the  wealthiest  citizen  of  his  section.  About  them 
lay  their  dogs,  —  a  hound  for  the  doctor,  setters  and 
pointers  for  Mr.  George,  and  one  or  two  nonde- 
scripts for  Dick.  In  the  morning,  by  the  crack  of 
day,  each  went  on   his  appointed  way  :   one  to   his 


Diomed 


2«I 


deer-Stand,  or  turkey-blind  ;  one  to  his  quail-hunt- 
ing; and  the  boy  upon  his  rabbit  or  robin  hunt. 
In  the  evening  they  returned;  all  happv,  whether 
they  had  been  successful  or  not ;  and  each  interested 
in  the  reports  made  by  the  others,  concerning  what 
they  had  succeeded  in  doing,  or  how  they  had  failed. 

Young  Dick  and  my  little  master  were  sworn 
allies.  Little  m.ister  spent  three  weeks  at  a  time 
at  Terrapin  Neck  with  Dick,  and  they  hunted  and 
fished  and  went  swimming  and  bred  game  chickens 
together. 

Whenever  master  appeared  at  Terrapin  Neck,  his 
presence  was  the  signal  for  a  carnival  of  sport.  The 
three  generations  of  Taylors  vied  with  each  other  in 
their  kindness  and  attention.  The  doctor  abandoned 
practice;  George  abandoned  farming;  and  Dick  in- 
variably tried  to  abandon  school.  All  energies  were 
concentrated  upon  securing  the  best  sport  to  be  had. 
When,  as  on  the  visit  I  am  now  to  describe,  Doctor 
Armistead  Taylor  accompanied  master  to  Terrapin 
Neck,  it  was  additional  fuel  added  to  the  flame  of 
sport.  And  how  they  did  feed  at  Terrapin  Neck  ! 
There  were  so  many  of  them,  young  and  old,  that 
a  dog  was  always  up  to  his  eyes  in  table  scraps. 
And  dogs  !  They  were  as  plentiful  as  chinquapins 
in  the  woods.  It  was  as  impossible  for  Armistead 
or  George  Taylor  to  refuse  a  hunting-dog  as  it  is 
for  a  drunkard  to  decline  a  drink.  The  place  was 
filled  with  dogs.  They  were  of  all  sizes  and  appear- 
ance ;  from  setters  that  were  half  Newfoundlands,  to 
those  that  were  half  cocker-spaniels  ;  from  pointers 
as  large  as  yearling  calves  to  shivering  runts  that 
looked  like   Italian  greyhounds. 


282  Diomed 

Both  men  held  to  the  theory  "  Try  all  things, 
and  hold  fast  to  that  which  is  good."  Thev  con- 
tended, concerning  dogs,  as  did  the  great  horse- 
racer,  John  Robin  McDaniel,  concerning  horses, 
that  they  "  run  in  all  forms."  An  old  darky  upon 
George  Taylor's  place,  a  sort  of  privileged  character 
and  something  of  a  wag,  always  referred  to  Terrapin 
Neck  as  "  Dog  Springs."  But  if  you  think  that 
thev  long  harbored  a  dog  that  was  worthless,  you 
are  much  mistaken.  Any  dog  could  come  and  was 
welcome.  Every  dog  that  came  was  fairlv  tried. 
If  he  was  worthy,  he  remained.  If  he  was  worthless, 
he  soon  departed  tor  other  climes.  By  this  con- 
stant search  they,  now  and  then,  obtained  some 
phenomenal  dogs.  Mr.  George  Taylor's  old  black 
and  white  dropper'  Mack,  a  pointer  in  appearance, 
an  animal  acquired  by  him  through  his  ever-shifting 
dog-trying,  was  a  veritable  king  among  dogs.  Mack 
was  the  only  dog  in  whose  presence  I  ever  felt  and 
acknowledged  my  own  inferiority. 

Bound  for  the  Taylors',  I  met  master  in  Rich- 
mond. We  took  the  afternoon  train  on  the  Dan- 
ville road.  Dr.  Armistead  Taylor  met  us  at  the 
station  where  we  lett  the  train.  There  also  was  his 
brother  George  with  a  good  team  to  drive  us  to 
Terrapin  Neck.  What  a  joyous  reunion  it  was  ! 
The  three  men  had  not  been  thus  together  for  sev- 
eral years,  and  each  vied  with  the  other  to  show^  his 
delight  that  they  were  once  more  united  as  of  old. 
The  long  drive  wearied  no  one.  All  three  had 
much  to  tell  of  what  had  happened  since  they 
parted,  and  all   had  something  to   recall   of  former 

1  Dropper  is  a  cross  between  setter  and  pointer. 


Diomed  283 

shooting  days,  as  the  familiar  phices  upon  the  road 
were  passed.  Besides  the  men,  we  had  in  our  party 
another  who  excited  new  emotions  in  me.  We 
found  in  Richmond  my  son  "Young  Di."  He  was 
now  two  years  old,  and  had  just  arrived  from  Mis- 
sissippi, where  he  had  finished  his  education.  He 
was  and  is  a  handsome  youth.  I  may  speak  of  him 
thus  without  conceit,  because  he  is  so  unlike  me, 
and  so  much  resembles  his  mother.  He  is  a  black, 
white,  and  tan,  while  I,  as  you  know,  am  a  lemon 
and  white.  His  mother  is  a  charming  daughter  of 
the  famous  "Dashing  Rover";  and  Young  Di  in- 
herits her  family  beauty.  Old  as  I  was,  it  was  the 
first  time  I  had  ever  been  accompanied,  upon  a 
hunt,  by  one  of  my  own  offspring.  I  knew  that 
this  Young  Di  had  been  bred,  reared,  and  trained, 
to  take  my  place  ;  but  there  was  not  the  slightest 
feeling  of  resentment  against  my  son  mingled  with 
the  natural  sadness  I  felt  at  the  prospect  of  being 
supplanted.  I  found  him  to  be  a  modest,  sensible, 
level-headed  fellow.  He  was  affectionate  and  re- 
spectful to  me  ;  and  seemed  anxious  to  learn  what- 
ever I  might  teach  him.  I  fully  resolved  to  help 
him  all  I  could  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  let  him 
see  what  sort  of  dog  his  father  was.  It  was  this,  no 
doubt,  which  made  my  work  upon  that  hunt  force 
my  master  to  reverse  his  last  year's  verdict,  and  re- 
cord the  fact  that,  in  my  tenth  year,  I  hunted  like  a 
three-year-old.  I  hold  that  autumn's  sport  in  ten- 
der remembrance,  for  it  was  the  last  grand  rally  of 
my  life. 

We  hunted  for  quails  for  three  successive  days  at 
Terrapin  Neck.     Spared  by  the  mildness  of  the  pre- 


284  Dlomed 

ceding  winter,  the  number  of  birds  had  increased 
beyond  our  expectations,  and  we  had  good  shooting. 
It  is  surprising  to  see  how  quickly  under  favorable 
conditions  they  do  replenish  their  numbers  after 
being  almost  exterminated.  Young  Di  was  all,  and 
more  than  all,  that  I  could  desire  ;  and,  for  myself, 
I  kept  up  even  better  than  I  had  dared  to  expect. 
Dr.  Armistead  returned  to  his  home  ;  but  master 
remained  several  days  longer. 

One  night  after  supper,  we  were  assembled  in  the 
old  doctor's  room,  as  usual.  He  was  fixing  a  trap 
for  Dick,  who  stood  in  mute  admiration.  That  ever- 
considerate  Mr.  George  was  wiping  off  the  guns. 
Master  was  drawing  pictures  for  the  children. 
"  George,"  said  his  father,  "  I  saw  that  flock  of 
turkeys  that  uses  the  mill-pond  woods,  cross  the 
road  near  the  school-house  about  sundown."  "You 
did  !  "  exclaimed  George,  all  alert.  "  Did  you  shoot 
at  them  ?  "  "  No.  I  was  too  far  off  and  knew  I 
could  not  scatter  them  and  call  them  up  before 
dark."  George  stopped  wiping  the  gun,  leaned  for  a 
few  moments  upon  the  stick,  thinking;  then,  glanc- 
ing at  the  dogs,  he  exclaimed,  "  See  here,  John  —  it 
you  don't  give  that  old  skate  of  yours  a  rest  you'll 
kill  him.  You  are  such  a  fool  about  him  you  don't 
enjoy  hunting  unless  he  is  along.  Now  I'll  tell  you 
the  sensible  thing  to  do.  Let  us  go  after  those  tur- 
keys in  the  morning  and  give  the  dogs  a  rest.  Then 
we'll  vary  the  sport,  and  have  fresh  dogs  next  day." 
"  All  right,"  said  master.  "  But,  understand,  my 
old  skate  is  as  good  as  any  of  your  old  skates  on 
turkeys  ;  and,  old  as  he  is,  I  don't  intend  that  any 
dog  here  shall   poke  his  nose  after  turkeys  without 


Diomed  285 

old  Di  along.  We  can  leave  Young  Di,  and  the 
others,  and  take  old  Di  and  Mack."  So  it  was  ar- 
ranged. George  invited  his  father  to  accompany 
us,  but  he  said  something  about  not  keeping  up  with 
younger  men,  and  declined  the  invitation.  If  the 
doctor  had  flushed  the  flock  of  turkeys  the  night 
before,  it  would  have  been  necessary  that  we  should 
start  long  before  day  ;  we  would  then  have  built  a 
blind,  and,  they  being  scattered,  we  would  have 
called  them  up  at  daybreak.  As  they  had  not  been 
flushed  and  separated,  we  knew  they  would  roost 
together.  Our  plan,  therefore,  was  to  start  shortly 
before  day;  try  to  find  them  on  their  roost;  and, 
failing  in  that,  to  let  the  dogs  strike  their  scent  where 
they  alighted  from  roosting,  follow  it  up ;  flush, 
chase,  and  scatter  them  ;  and  then  build  blinds  and 
call  them  up. 

Both  master  and  myself  were  somewhat  rusty 
on  turkeys.  My  task  was  comparatively  easy.  All 
I  had  to  do  was  to  follow  close  at  heel  when  we  were 
looking  for  them  on  their  roost,  and,  if  we  failed  to 
find  them  thus,  I  was  to  range  out  for  their  scent, 
and,  finding  them,  bark,  rush  into  their  midst,  drive 
them  in  as  many  directions  as  possible,  and  then 
hurry  back  to  master,  wait  until  he  built  his  blind, 
creep  into  it  with  him,  and  lie  as  still  as  a  mouse 
until  he  fired.  But  it  was  part  of  his  business  to 
handle  and  work  the  yelper,  and  unless  that  is  done 
scientifically  the  other  labor  is  all  in  vain;  for  when 
a  turkey  discovers  the  imposture  he  never  returns. 
Young  turkeys  are  the  silliest  things  in  the  world  ; 
but  an  old  mother  is  the  cleverest  of  birds.  If  the 
hunter  can  kill  her,  he  has  nothing  to  do  but  wait 


286 


Diomed 


and  call,  and  the  young  ones  will  come  in,  one  after 
another,  to  the  most  apparent  false  calls.     But  unless 


Monarch   of  American    Game-birds 


the  hunter  knows  his  business,  a  mother  turkey  will 
recognize  his  false  notes  in  an  instant,  and  if  she 
does,  farewell  to  sport. 

Master  dearly   loved    turkey-hunting,  but   never 


Diomed  287 

was  good  at  calling.  The  greater  part  of  my  turkey- 
hunting  was  done  with  Dr.  Armistead  Taylor,  with 
whom  I  often  spent  weeks  or  months.  He  handled 
his  turkev-call  with  more  skill  than  any  ot  our  circle. 
I  remember  an  occasion  when  master  and  I  put 
up  an  old  hen  with  a  flock  of  well-grown  young 
turkeys.  We  made  our  blind  and  lay  still  tor  a 
long  time.  Then  we  heard,  away  down  in  the 
woods,  a  soft  "  pee-pee-pee."  Gracious  !  how  that 
sound  does  thrill  one  lying  there  hidden  in  a  blind. 
The  thingr  for  master  to  have  done  was  to  lie  still. 
He  might  hav^e  known  the  turkeys  were  young  and 
would  come  back  to  the  place  where  we  were  lying, 
for  it  was  there  that  we  had  flushed  them.  He  might 
have  known  also  that  the  old  hen  was  somewhere 
near  by,  and  would  not  come  to  call  ;  and  that,  if 
he  would  keep  still  until  he  had  a  chance  to  shoot 
her,  we  should  have  good  sport.  But  he  did  not 
keep  these  things  in  mind.  He  could  not  resist  the 
temptation  to  show  his  skill  on  the  yelper.  Atter 
the  young  one  repeated  his  call  once  or  twice,  out 
came  that  confounded  yelper.  When  master  did 
call,  my  !  what  a  travestv  of  a  turkey  note  it  was. 
With  his  first  sound,  from  an  adjoining  myrtle 
thicket,  a  great  "  Put !  "  went  up,  like  the  pop  of  a 
cork,  and  we  saw  the  old  hen  tearing  off  like  mad. 
She  had  located  us  and  was  safe.  But  for  that 
hideous  call  she  would  have  come  out  in  a  few 
moments  into  the  open,  and  we  would  have  bagged 
her.  Once  safely  out  of  reach,  and  with  us  surely 
located,  she  began  a  series  of  warnings  to  her  young, 
worthy  of  the  commands  of  a  general  directing  his 
forces.     "  Put-put-put,"  to  the  right  of  us.      A  mo- 


288  Diomed 

ment  later  "  Pat-put-put,"  to  left  of  us.  Then 
"  Put-put-put,"  behind  us.  First  here,  then  there. 
She  was  circling  our  position,  always  keeping  out 
of  range,  and  warning  the  young  away,  from  what- 
ever direction  they  might  be  approaching.  This 
work  was  kept  up  for  a  long  while,  master,  mean- 
while bemoaning  his  own  bad  management ;  and,  at 
last,  we  knew  they  had  gotten  together,  for  we  heard 
them  away  off  in  the  woods,  making  such  a  noise 
that  our  last  hope  ot  calling  them  was  gone. 

The  truth  is  that  a  thorough  knowledge  of  tur- 
keys, their  ao;e,  and  their  habits  at  different  seasons, 
is  necessary  to  enable  one  to  call  them  properly  and 
intelligently.  It  is  surprising,  too,  to  know  the 
great  variety  of  notes  one  can  produce  from  a  turkey 
yelper.  Just  what  note  to  produce  for  a  particular 
bird  or  at  a  particular  season  is  a  bit  of  woodcraft 
known  to  a  very  {qw.  The  note  by  which  to  call 
an  old  gobbler  is  as  different  from  that  employed  to 
deceive  a  young  bird,  as  it  the  two  were  different 
breeds.  Dr.  Armistead  was  a  professor  in  this  line, 
and  many  a  day  I  have  heard  him  coax  and  call 
and  answer  back  a  doubting  turkey,  in  such  a  way 
that  it  really  seemed  as  it  they  were  carrying  on  a 
conversation. 

Knowing  his  deficiencies  as  a  velper,  master  began 
practising  before  we  went  to  bed.  Under  the  cor- 
rection of  the  old  doctor,  he  began  with  a  turkey 
bone;  but  he  performed  so  badly  that  the  old 
doctor  grew  impatient,  and  told  Dick  to  fetch  mas- 
ter the  dinner  horn  from  the  back  porch.  He  said 
it  sounded  as  much  like  a  turkey-call  as  the  notes 
master  was   making,   and    the    birds    could    hear    it 


Diomed  289 

farther.  After  loud  laughter  at  this  sally  master 
essayed  the  use  of  the  box  call.  The  notes  from  it 
are  produced  by  gently  drawing  a  bit  of  slate  across 
the  thin  edges  of  a  little  box.  At  this  he  succeeded 
much  better,  and,  all  the  party  becoming  ambitious 
to  display  their  skill,  the  room  became  a  babel  of 
turkey  notes,  until  Mrs.  Taylor  put  her  head  in  the 
door,  and  told  them  to  stop  their  noise  and  go  to 
bed,  for  they  had  already  waked  the  baby.  "  Here, 
you  Dick,  you  can  go  with  them  and  do  the  calling 
in  Di's  blind,"  said  the  old  doctor,  as  we  parted  for 
the  night.  "  That  master  of  Di's  cannot  call  tur- 
keys. He  will  run  every  turkey  out  of  the  woods." 
The  idea  pleased  master,  who  knew  it  was  true. 

Just  before  daybreak  we  all  sallied  out.  The 
waning  moon  peered  feebly  through  a  thin  haze,  and 
the  men,  with  guns  under  their  arms,  and  hands  in 
pockets,  marched  silently,  in  Indian  file,  along  the 
sandy  road,  towards  the  dark  pines  whose  irregular 
tops  were  just  visible  along  the  horizon.  It  was  in 
these  pines  that  the  turkeys  had  been  seen  the  pre- 
ceding evening.  George  had  thoroughly  posted 
himself  about  the  place  at  which  they  had  crossed, 
and  the  direction  in  which  they  were  going.  Reach- 
ing the  woods,  we  held  our  course  upon  the  dark 
and  narrow  road,  in  stillness  unbroken  by  any  sound, 
save,  now  and  then,  the  crunching  of  the  white  sand 
beneath  the  feet  of  the  men.  Arriving  at  the  point 
where  the  turkeys  had  crossed,  the  gunners  took 
distances  about  a  hundred  yards  apart  and  started 
through  the  woods  in  the  direction  in  which  the 
birds  had  gone,  hoping  they  might,  by  good  luck, 
come  upon  them  on  their  roost, 

V 


290 


Diomed 


How  solemn  and  how  silent  are  the  pines  when 
one  is  alone  among  them  just  before  the  breaking 
of  the  day.  Who  that  has  never  been  in  the  forest 
as  the  day  was  breaking  can  appreciate  the  delicious 
sense  of  revivinor  life,  and  the  cheerfulness  which 
comes  over  us,  as  the  light  begins  to  penetrate  the 
dark  spaces  between  the  bodies  of  the  trees  ?  How 
happy  seems  the  first  risen  gray  squirrel,  sitting  on 
his  hickory  limb,  as  he  noisily  tumbles  down  the 
shells  from  his  breakfast  nut!  How  cunningly 
does  the  early  rising  little  sap-sucker  dodge  on  the 
further  side  of  yonder  dead  limb  ;  and  how  noisy,  in 
the  stillness,  sounds  his  industrious  "tap  —  tap  — 
tap"!  How  delicious  is  the  perfume  of  moist  pine, 
and  cedar,  and  gum,  and  myrtle,  and  balsam,  as  they 
seem  moved  to  fresh  fragrance  by  returning  light! 
Now  and  again,  some  dried  limb,  or  cone,  or  bark, 
breaks  the  stillness  ;  falling,  at  this  hour,  like  the  old 
men  who  die  at  daybreak.  All  else  is  wrapped  in 
silence.  Not  the  silence  of  darkness,  but  the  stillness 
visible,  of  refreshed  and  awakening  nature.  No- 
where in  the  world  does  man  or  brute  enjoy  such 
sense  of  repose,  and  peace,  and  happiness,  as  comes 
to  him  in  the  silence  of  the  woods,  at  the  opening  ot 
a  sunlit  day. 

Such  were  the  reflections  of  master  and  dog, 
as  the  long  sunbeams  began  to  paint  the  pine  trees 
about  us  half  in  silver  and  half  in  black,  and  to  gild 
the  pine  tags  under  our  feet  until  they  looked  like 
a  floor  of  burnished  copper.  We  had  failed  to  find 
the  turkeys  on  their  roost ;  and,  until  now,  although 
it  was  past  sunrise,  had  not  struck  their  morning 
scent.      Mr.  George  and  Dick  were  not  in  sight. 


Diomed  291 

A  moment  later,  a  quick  succession  of  yelps  burst 
on  us  ;  there  was  a  rushing  sound,  like  wind,  away 
off  to  our  left,  followed  by  two  loud  reports  from 
George  Taylor's  gun,  and,  afterwards,  by  two  nearer 
reports  from  Dick's.  By  this  we  knew  that  George 
had  flushed  the  gang  of  turkeys,  and  that  they  had 
flown  in  our  direction.  We  watched,  and  saw,  cross- 
ing in  our  front,  one,  two,  three,  four,  objects  flitting 
through  the  pines.  At  that  instant,  steadied  on 
wings  so  silent  that  he  had  almost  escaped  before  we 
saw  him,  a  young  gobbler  shot  by  us,  high  up,  and 
almost  overhead.  Master  wheeled  quickly,  threw 
up  his  gun,  and  at  the  report  the  bird  folded  his 
wings,  threw  back  his  head,  dashed  against  the  upper 
limb  of  a  pine,  and,  rebounding,  fell  almost  at  our 
feet.  "  What  luck  !  What  luck  !  "  said  I,  smelling 
him  over  in  a  transport  of  delight.  George  had 
fired  only  to  scatter  them  ;  Dick  had  missed  his 
shot ;  and  here  we  were,  doing  less  to  obtain  the 
shot,  and  deserving  it  less  than  any  of  the  party,  yet 
bagging  the  game. 

Shortly  afterwards,  that  long-legged,  untiring 
George,  followed  by  that  irrepressible  Mack,  came 
forging  through  the  pines.  They  had  been  travel- 
ling like  two  steam  engines,  and  had  overtaken  the 
turkeys  in  a  bit  of  swampy  woods,  whither  they  had 
run  for  water.  Removing  his  cap,  and  wiping  his 
forehead  as  he  came  up,  Mr.  Taylor  cried,  "  Well ! 
Is  there  nothing  for  all  that  firing  ?  "  "  Yes,"  replied 
master,  "  one."  "  One  what  ?  "  said  George,  for 
Dick  was  with  him,  excitedly  telling  him  how,  just 
as  he  pulled  the  trigger,  his  gun-barrel  had  come 
against  a  tree,  which  threw  him  off  his  sight. 


292 


Diomed 


"  One  sap-sucker,"  said  master.  "  If  you  and  Dick 
can  shoot  at  rabbits,  why  cannot  I  kill  a  few  wood- 
peckers ?  "  George  protested  that  he  had  flushed 
the  flock  of  turkeys.  Master  pretended  to  doubt 
it  in  spite  of  Dick's  earnest  corroboration.  Thus 
the  party  were  moving  forward  when  the  Taylors 
caught  sight  of  master's  young  gobbler,  iridescent 
in  the  morning  light,  where  master  had  hung  it  in 
the  fork  of  a   little  dogwood,  behind  a  huge  pine. 


Turke\ -yelping. 


that  had  concealed  it  until  now.  Then  we  had  a 
war-dance,  and  separated  to  build  our  blinds. 

If  man  or  dog  has  committed  any  ofl'ence  upon 
which  he  does  not  wish  to  reflect,  I  would  advise 
him  against  turkey-hunting  in  a  blind.  There  is 
no  place  in  the  world  where  he  will  have  a  better 
chance  than  there,  for  retrospection  and  introspec- 
tion, while  waiting  and  listenino;  tor  the  return  of 
the  turkeys. 

On  the  morning  in  question  we  waited  long  and 


Diomcd  293 

patiently,  —  master,  Dick,  and  I.  We  gathered  a 
lot  of  myrtle  boughs,  and  putting  them  on  both 
sides  of  us  behind  a  fallen  tree,  we  lav  there  so 
quietly  that  a  squirrel,  after  eying  us  and  frisking 
about  us,  actually  sat  up  and  washed  his  face  with 
his  paws  on  the  end  of  the  log  behind  which  our 
blind  was  built.  But  no  turkeys  came.  Once  or 
twice  we  thought  we  heard  them,  and  enjoyed  some- 
thing of  the  delicious  expectancy  which  is  one  of 
the  charms  of  turkey-hunting.  But  that  was  all. 
George  had  no  better  luck  than  ourselves.  Appar- 
ently a  long  distance  away,  we  heard  the  report  of 
a  single  gun.  Such  sounds  are  common  in  the 
woods.  At  last,  giving  it  up  as  a  bad  job,  we 
resolved  to  go  home,  and  started  off  by  a  short- 
cut route.  "  Hush  !  "  said  George,  suddenly,  when 
we  had  gone  a  few  hundred  yards  ;  and  we  all  lis- 
tened. We  immediately  heard  a  turkey  calling. 
In  an  instant  we  were  all  well  concealed.  "Yep  — 
yep  —  yep  —  yep  —  ycp/'  floated  the  sound  softly 
up  the  decline  before  us,  "Yep — yep  —  yep  —  yep 
—  yep/'  answered  George,  in  his  coyest  fashion,  so 
low  and  sweet  that  it  seemed  impossible  tor  any 
turkey  to  resist  him.  Then  came  an  anxious  period 
of  waiting  and  watching,  during  which  we  scarcely 
breathed.  But  for  some  reason  the  turkey  did  not 
come.  Each  time  we  called  he  answered,  but  was 
no  nearer,  and  no  further  away.  After  a  long 
amount  of  coquetting  with  him,  George  decided 
to  steal  out  and  try  to  get  a  sight  of  him.  He 
crawled  cautiously  behind  some  logs  to  an  opening 
and  peeped  out ;  then  he  beckoned  back  mysteri- 
ously for  master.     With  equal  caution  master  crept 


294  Diomed 

out,  peeped  for  an  instant,  and  his  face  broadened 
into  a  wide  giin.  About  seventy-five  yards  away, 
the  old  doctor  was  concealed  behind  a  tree,  yelping 
his  prettiest.  "The  old  rascal!"  said  George.  "I 
suspected  some  trick  when  he  refused  to  come  out 
with  us  ;  and  now  he  is  just  making  fools  of  us." 
"Let  us  turn  the  tables  on  him,"  said  master.  "He 
is  watching  where  we  were.  Let  us  crawl  away  and 
leave  him."  "  No,"  said  Dick.  "  Let  us  go  back, 
crawl  near  to  him,  and  then  fire  in  his  direction  as 
if  we  really  thought  him  to  be  a  turkey."  We 
accepted  Dick's  suggestion.  So  back  we  went,  and, 
crawling  towards  him  cautiously,  it  was  arranged 
that  George  Taylor  should  fire  first,  shooting  at 
the  tree  high  up,  yet  near  enough  to  him  for  the 
doctor  to  hear  the  shot  strike.  Then,  when  the 
doctor  should  announce  himself,  Dick  and  master 
were  to  fire  into  the  air  with  intervals  sufficient  to 
enable  him  to  protest  between  shots. 

It  worked  to  a  charm.  When  George  fired  and 
his  shot  struck  the  tree,  the  doctor,  hearing  them, 
scrambled  to  his  feet,  exclaiming,  "  Hulloa,  there  ! 
What  the  mischief!"  Just  then,  bang  went  Dick's 
gun,  and  the  doctor  dodged  behind  the  tree,  ex- 
claiming, "  Stop  that  shooting  there,  will  you  ! 
Don't  you!"  "Bang!"  went  master's  gun,  and  by 
this  time  the  doctor  was  boiling  and  swearing  that 
if  that  firing  did  not  stop  he  would  open  on  us  with 
a  return  fire.  It  was  some  time  before  we  pacified 
him.  He  insisted  that  we  tried  to  shoot  him,  and 
refused  to  admit  that  he  began  the  joke. 

By  his  side  when  we  reached  him  was  another 
one  of  our  flock  of  turkeys.     The  sly  old  rascal  ! 


Diomed  ig^ 

He  had  changed  his  mind  about  going,  had  fol- 
lowed us  by  this  short  route,  had  heard  us  shoot, 
had  seen  our  turkeys  come  his  way,  had  built  him- 
self a  blind,  and  had  shot  one  of  our  turkeys.  No 
wonder  no  turkeys  came  to  us.  He  was  between 
us  and  the  turkeys.  Somebody  will  say  this  was 
not  sportsmanlike.  But  to  appreciate  the  joke  you 
should  have  known  the  Taylors  and  master.  They 
were  playing  pranks  like  these  upon  each  other  all 
the  while  ;  and  that  old  doctor,  walking  along  as  if 
he  was  about  to  fall  to  pieces,  was  the  merriest  and 
slyest  old  fox  in  the  whole  party. 

It  was  a  half  holiday  at  school.  On  our  journey 
homeward,  as  we  re-entered  the  cool  main  road,  we 
saw  the  Taylor  children  returning  with  their  school- 
books.  What  a  pretty  sight  it  was  as  the  merry 
troop  drew  near,  headed  by  Miss  Evelyn  Byrd 
Harvie  Taylor,  aged  thirteen.  And  how  fetching 
she  looked,  in  her  short,  Scotch  plaid  dress  and 
white  apron  and  blue  yarn  stockings ;  her  poke 
bonnet  thrown  back,  and  her  ringlets  straggling 
about  her  face,  reading  aloud  to  herself  as  she 
strolled  leisurely  homeward  through  the  pines  on 
the  sandy,  sunny  road.  She  was  the  literary  mem- 
ber of  the  household. 

What  wonder  and  delight  those  great  soft  eyes 
expressed  as  she  beheld  our  handsome  gobblers 
slung  upon  the  shoulders  of  her  father  and  her 
brother.  Every  child  plucked  a  feather  from  the 
turkey  tails  to  bedeck  their  bonnets  and  hats. 

"  What's  that  you  were  reading  so  intently  ? " 
said  master  to  Evelyn,  as  we  walked  on  together. 
Taking  the  book  and  glancing  over  it  he  saw  that 


296 


Diomed 


it  was  a  simple  little  primary,  filled  with  questions 
asking,  "  Where  are  the  spectacles  of  my  cross-eyed 
grandmother  ?  "  and  a  thousand  others  like  it,  in 
French,  "  I  can  speak  a  little  French,"  said  he, 
"and  ril  give  you  a  lesson.  These  turkeys  are  the 
food  for  the  gods.  What  goddess  loves  turkeys 
best?"  One  said,  "  Diana."  Another  said,  "Juno," 
and  another  exclaimed,  "  Dido  !  " 


The   Procession  to   the   House. 


"Dido  was  no  goddess,"  laughed  master,  "but 
let  it  go  at  Dido.  We'll  feed  the  disconsolate 
damsel  well.     Now  listen  and  repeat : 

"  '  Dido,  dit  on,  dina  d'un  dos  de  dindon.'  " 

What  a  string  of  nonsense  master  rattles  forth 
whenever  he  plays  with  children  ! 

"  What  does  it  mean  ? "  shouted  the  whole  chorus  of 
voices,  when  the  babel  of  its  repetition  had  subsided. 

"  '  Dido,  they  say,  dines  off  the  back  of  a  turkey,'  " 
said  master  solemnly.  "  Good ! "  shouted  the  French 
class. 


D 


lomec 


297 


The  soft  alliteration  and  merrv  jingle  of  the  words 
caught  the  fancy  of  the  children.  With  children's 
quickness  they  learned  tlie  phrase  as  if  it  had  been 
"  Peter  Piper." 

By  the  time  we  came  in  sight  of  the  house  the 
smallest  one  of  them  could  rattle  it  off.  As  we 
drew  near  home,  the  men  in  front  bearing  the 
spoils  of  the  morning  hunt,  the  children  decked 
with  feathers,  repeating  in  chorus  the  Dido  jingle, 
and  keeping  step  to  its  cadence  ;  Mrs.  Taylor  stood 
on  the  veranda,  whither  the  noise  had  attracted  her 
from  her  housework,  and,  shading  her  brow  with 
her  hand,  wondered,  as  she  smiled  upon  the  group, 
whether  her  whole  household  had  gone  daft. 

A  month  later  master  wrote  from  England,  telling 
Mr.  Selden  that,  in  a  place  called  the  Army  and 
Navy  Store,  he  had  found  a  famous  hunting-saddle 
for  him,  and  new  collars  for  old  Di,  Young  Di, 
and  Dicky   Don. 


Chapter   XVIII 

(1893-4-5) 
Illness  —  A  Chang-e  —  Williamsburo-  —  The   End 


.J  i?St>T 


■^  'ik.     T  r     ~ 


T  was  in  the  spring  time  ot  1893.  We 
all  felt  that  master,  after  crossing  and  re-crossing 
the  Ocean,  owed  us  a  visit  without  waiting  for  the 
shooting  season  to  begin.  I  was  not  vain  enough 
to  believe  that  he  would  come,  at  that  season,  be- 
cause of  the  condition  of  my  health,  which  was  very 
bad.  The  little  restored  vitality  I  had  felt  last  fall, 
was  entirely  extinguished  by  the  storms  which  raged 
throughout  January,  February,  and  March.  Rheu- 
matism had  again  attacked  me,  accompanied,  this 
time,  by  a  serious  and  painful  affection  ot  the  ear. 
Men  glibly  dispose  of  ear  troubles  among  dogs,  by 
denominating   them    cankers — external  or  internal 

298 


Diomed  299 

canker,  according  to  the  location  ot  the  complaint. 
Mr.  Selden  called  mine  internal  canker,  and,  at  one 
time  applied  sweet  oil,  and  at  another  time  spirits 
of  turpentine.  The  tormer  was  harmless;  the  latter 
very  painful.  Neither  did  me  the  slightest  good. 
The  swelling  increased,  was  excruciatingly  paintul, 
and  made  me  very  deaf.  When,  at  last,  it  burst  of 
itselt,  the  discharge  continued  tor  many  weeks  and 
was  so  disagreeable  to  every  one,  that  I  found  my- 
selt  banished  from  my  old  place  by  the  fireside,  and 
was  seldom  admitted  to  the  house.  Limping  about, 
shaking  my  troublesome  ear  continually,  I  lost  my 
appetite,  grew  thin,  and,  for  the  first  time  in  my 
life,  became  despondent. 

How  I  longed  for  master  then.  Right  well  I 
knew  that  in  my  old  age  and  time  ot  trouble,  he 
would  teel  tor  me,  and  tend  my  ailments  better  than 
any  one  in  the  world.  At  the  corner  of  the  lawn 
was  a  mound  where  a  summer  house  once  stood. 
The  spot  overlooked  the  valley  ;  from  it,  the  trains 
from  Richmond  came  into  view,  five  miles  away,  as 
they  rounded  the  bluffs  of  the  Rock  Castle  estate. 
The  hedges  surrounding  the  yard  stopped  before 
they  reached  this  mound ;  and  the  unobstructed 
sunlight  on  its  southern  exposure  made  it  a  vyarm 
resting-place.  This  became  my  favorite  resort. 
There  I  would  go  and  lie  for  hours,  thinking  of 
happier  days,  and  pleasing  myself,  when  I  discoy- 
ered  the  smoke  of  an  approaching  train,  with  the 
fancy  that  it  might  be  bearincr  back  to  me  my  truant 
master. 

I  blamed  no  one  for  my  lot.  But  it  was  hard  ; 
after  all    the   years  of  privilege  and  intimacy  I  had 


300  Diomed 

enjoyed,  to  see  myselt  excluded  from  the  fireside, 
and  my  place  taken  by  Young  Di.  I  knew  mv 
condition  was  such  that,  even  had  he  been  absent, 
I  could  not  have  been  tolerated  in  the  house. 
When  I  reflected,  I  realized  all  this  ;  but  who,  in 
my  plight,  would  not  have  been  cast  down  by  a 
feeling  of  desertion  and   neglect  ? 

"All  things  come  to  him  who  waits,"  says  the 
proverb,  and  so  it  was  with  me.  Was  it  instinct 
that  roused  me  from  a  troubled  sleep,  one  day  in 
the  spring  of  1893,  to  watch  the  smoke  of  the  train, 
rolling  up  among  the  dogwood  blossoms  on  the 
bluffs?  Whv  did  a  new  hope  spring  within  me,  as 
the  iron  monster  came  flashing  its  way  toward  us, 
through  the  many  tinted  greens  and  pink  and  white 
bloom  of  the  lowlands?  A  red-winged  starling,  bal- 
ancing himself  upon  a  yielding  willow  bough  hard 
by,  seemed  to  bid  me,  with  his  gurgling  melody,  to 
hope.  A  yellow-breasted  lark,  fluttering  up  to  the 
creamy  blooming  locust  on  the  hillside,  poured  out 
a  joyous  flood  of  country  song,  as  it  he  sung  to  me. 
Had  some  beautiful  goddess  of  the  chase  paused 
from  her  pastimes  long  enough  to  pity  the  sorrows 
of  a  poor  old  dog,  and  send  his  master  back  to  him? 

Was  it  by  chance  or  by  design  that,  April  twenty- 
second,  1893,  the  anniversary  of  my  tenth  birthday, 
the  whistle  blew  at  Snowden  bridge,  the  train  slowed 
down,  and  master  stepped  off,  the  picture  ot  health 
and  strength  and  cheeriness  ? 

Ah  !  from  my  airy  station  in  the  yard,  I  saw  it 
all.  Saw  the  handshaking  of  the  men,  and  the 
whisking  friskiness  of  Young  Di  and  the  rest  of  the 
dogs,  at  sight  of  master.      In  other  days  one  bound 


Diomed  301 

would  have  sent  me  over  the  fence  ;  and  down  the 
hill  I  would  have  plunged,  to  join  in  master's  wel- 
come. But  now  !  How  could  I  ?  My  strength 
was  gone.  Every  jar  of  my  poor  old  frame  was 
agony.  Pulling  myself  together,  as  best  I  could,  I 
hobbled  to  the  gate,  but  found  it  closed.  If  it  had 
been  open,  how  could  I  have  reclimbed  that  steep 
hill  ?  So,  back  I  limped,  to  my  station  at  the 
mound,  watching  the  party  as  they  came  up  the  hill, 
poking  my  head  between  the  openings  in  the  fence, 
and  expressing  my  pent-up  feelings  with  hoarse 
barks  of  joy,  lest  they  might  pass  me  by.  Pass  me 
by  ?  Master  pass  me  by  ?  Say  rather  that  the 
mother  might  pass  her  baby  by,  or  that  water  might 
run  up  hill.  He  was  fat  with  English  roast  beef. 
As  he  toiled  up  that  steep  hill,  he  puffed  like  the 
engine  which  had  just  passed.  But,  when  he  reached 
the  hill-top  and  saw  me  standing  there,  he  came 
over  that  fence  with  the  agility  of  a  boy  ;  and,  in 
another  instant,  had  enveloped  me  with  that  love 
for  which  I  had  hungered  and  thirsted  for  so  many 
moons. 

"  Have  a  care  how  you  hug  him  ;  you  will  soil 
your  clothes  ;  the  poor  old  fellow  is  very  foul,"  said 
Mr.  Selden. 

Now  I  know  I  was  not,  as  master  would  have  ex- 
pressed it  "a  sweet-scented  geranium"  in  my  then 
condition;  but  I  don't  think  it  was  as  bad  as  that; 
and  master,  turning  to  Mr.  Selden,  said,  "  Dick,  I'd 
hug  the  old  man  if  he  spoiled  the  whole  suit  of 
clothes."  Then  watching  me  critically  as  we  all 
moved  towards  the  house,  he  said,  "  He's  badly  off 
—  sure  enough.      He   needs  a  doctor.      I  will   take 


302  Diomed 

him  to  Williamsburg  with  me  this  afternoon.  I  had 
no  idea  it  was  as  serious  as  this."  Master's  brother 
is  a  physician  residing  at  Williamsburg.  Although 
not  such  an  ardent  sportsman  as  master,  he  does 
about  the  amount  of  hunting  that  I  would  be  equal 
to  when  in  good  condition.  I  therefore  welcomed 
the  prospect  of  obtaining  relief  from  him,  and 
spending  the  remainder  of  my  days  with  him,  as  a 
desirable  change.  Dogs,  like  men,  become  morbid 
as  they  grow  old  ;  and  I  could  not  divest  myself  of 
the  teeling  that  I  had  worn  my  welcome  out  at 
Snowden  ;  and,  that,  being  no  longer  useful,  I  ought 
not  to  impose  upon  the  hospitality  of  friends.  With 
master's  brother  it  was  different ;  for,  between  them, 
whatever  one  has  belongs  to  the  other.  At  Wil- 
liamsburg I  would  be  as  much  at  home  as  it  I  had 
been  in  New  York.  Master  said  he  would  have 
taken  me  to  New  York,  but  for  the  flict  that,  at  my 
age,  1  could  not  stand  the  climate  or  confinement. 
A  busy  time  we  had  of  it  that  afternoon.  With  a 
basin  of  warm  water  and  soap  suds,  master  washed 
my  afflicted  ear;  gave  it  a  thorough  examination; 
and  located  the  point  requiring  treatment.  He 
thought  a  surgical  operation  would  be  necessary  to 
relieve  me  of  the  trouble  in  the  ear.  As  to  the 
rheumatism,  he  said  the  pain  could  be  relieved,  but 
that  I  could  not  hope  to  regain  my  youthful  agility. 
I  had  not  felt  that  I  was  of  so  much  importance  for 
a  long  time.  After  the  bath  and  cleansing,  I  was 
admitted  to  the  house ;  and  remained  there  until 
train  time.  In  spite  of  earnest  entreaties  to  remain, 
master  departed  that  evening,  taking  me  with  him  ; 
and   the  day's  occurrences   had  so  far  revived  me, 


DIomed  303 

that  1  walked   down    the   hill    to    the   train    without 
much  difficulty. 

Parting  with  the  Seldens  and  with  Dicky  Don, 
was  exceedingly  sad  to  me.  I  had  been  the  recipi- 
ent of  great  love  and  kindness  from  them  all  my 
life ;  and  had  been  like  one  of  the  household  for 
over  four  years.  I  little  thought,  when  1  licked 
Dicky  Don's  face,  and  told  him  good-by,  that  he 
would  die  first;  or  that  we  would  never  meet  again. 
"  1  hope  you'll  speedily  get  well  under  the  doctor's 
treatment,"  said  he,  at  parting;  "and  that  you  will 
come  back  to  us  not  later  than  November  first." 
Mrs.  Selden,  always  so  good  and  kind,  said  she  was 
glad  I  was  going,  because  they  reallv  did  not  know 
what  to  do  for  me  ;  but  that,  in  parting,  she  felt  as 
it  a  member  of  the  family  was  dropping  out.  Mr. 
Selden  seemed  to  feel  that  this  was  the  beginning  of 
some  end  he  did  not  know.  Going  down  the  hill 
he  said,  with  a  sigh,  "  It  will  be  manv  a  dav,  John, 
before  we  have  another  brace  like  Dick  and  Di. 
Really  good  dogs  are  rare.  Before  we  find  the  like 
of  them,  you  and  I  may  both  be  gone."  So  we 
parted.  The  last  sight  I  had  of  Snowden  was  from 
the  door  ot  our  baggage-car.  At  a  turn  of  the  road 
I  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  homestead,  perched  on  its 
noble  hill  ;  the  yard  surrounded  by  its  deep  green 
cedar  hedges,  and  filled  with  the  white  bloom  of 
locusts,  and  the  purple  clusters  of  the  china  trees. 
Then  anorher  turn  shut  out  the  view.  Whatever 
hopes  I  had  elsewhere, —  however  much  I  may  have 
felt  the  necessity  of  the  change,  —  my  thoughts  still 
lingered  about  the  place  and  its  occupants  with  un- 
speakable fondness,  and  I  left  them  with  deep  regret. 


304  Diomed 

We  reached  Richmond  that  afternoon  and  spent 
the  night  there.  It  was  the  first  time,  in  the  five 
years  which  had  elapsed  since  master's  removal  to 
New  York,  that  he  and  I  had  been  in  Richmond 
together,  except  meeting  at  the  depots.  We  took 
a  stroll,  and  passed  our  old  residence.  It  was  not 
much  changed.  There  was  the  paling  fence  over 
which  I  once  bounded  so  nimbly.  I  could  not  have 
topped  it  then  if  my  life  had  depended  on  it. 
There  was  the  English  walnut  tree  master  planted 
when  I  was  a  puppy.  When  he  set  that  tree,  its 
stem  was  no  larger  than  a  pencil.  It  had  grown  to 
be  as  large  as  master's  arm,  and  had  great  branches 
filled  with  leaves.  We  passed  by  the  home  of 
Courtley  and  Dinah,  and  the  spot  where  I  fought 
with  Jim  Blaine.  The  places  that  knew  them  knew 
them  no  more. 

A  policeman,  loitering  in  a  corner,  greeted  master  ; 
"  Hello,  captain  !  Still  huntin',  are  ye  ?  Well,  it  looks 
to  me  like  you'll  soon  need  another  dog."  Then, 
taking  a  good  look  at  me,  he  evidently  recognized 
me,  for  he  said,  "  Blamed  ef  it  ain't  the  same  dog 
ye  had  when  you  lived  up  on  Franklin  Street  years 
ago."  Master  and  I  visited  the  market  where  we 
formerly  went  every  morning  ;  and  there  he  gave  me 
a  meal  of  chopped  lean  meat.  The  familiar  taste 
and  the  surroundings  made  me  feel  like  a  young 
dog  again.  Then  we  went  down  to  see  an  old  triend, 
at  whose  place  we  often  stopped  before  dav,  to  get 
hot  coffee  and  beefsteak,  when  we  were  going  shoot- 
ing years  ago.  There  he  was,  a  little  fitter,  and 
with  a  little  more  gray  in  his  hair,  but  he  was  still 
the  same  cheery  host  who,  in  days  gone  by,  gave  us 


Diomed  305 

such  smoking  breakfasts,  and  pushed  such  generous 
bundles  of  luncheon  under  our  wagon  seat,  in  the 
frosty  mornings  of  1885-6-7. 

Then  we  visited  the  drug  store  where,  in  days 
gone  by,  master  compounded  his  dog  medicines.  I 
did  not  have  a  pleasant  recollection  of  that  place.  I 
associated  it  with  the  smell  and  taste  of  castor  oil. 
The  druggist  was  glad  to  see  us,  and  well  he  might 
be  ;  for,  by  master's  permission,  he  had  advertised 
and  sold  condition  powders,  based  on  master's  pre- 
scription ;  and  he  told  us  that  they  were  now  the 
best  known  dog  pills  in  the  land  ;  and  had  brought 
him  in  a  pot  of  money.  He  and  master  had  a 
hearty  laugh  about  his  having  wished  to  name  his 
pills  after  master,  who  had  refused  to  be  so  honored. 
Nothing  would  do  but  we  must  take  two  boxes  of 
these  pills  which  had  master's  certificate  attached, 
declaring  that  they  would  make  a  dead  dog  eat. 
Pay  for  them  ?  No  !  It  was  a  privilege,  the  mer- 
chant said,  to  present  them,  with  his  compliments, 
to  Di ;  and  if  they  aided  me,  as  he  believed  they 
would,  it  would  be  an  added  pleasure.  Then  came 
a  new  and  pleasant  lotion  for  the  suffering  ear  ;  and 
the  offer  of  bones  from  a  neighboring  restaurant ; 
which  last  courtesy  I  was  compelled  to  decline,  being 
already  full  and  toothless. 

"After  all,  life  is  yet  worth  living,"  said  I,  as  I 
lay  down  by  my  master's  bed  that  night,  quite 
wearied  with  the  excitement,  but  feeling  better  than 
1  had  done  for  months.  My  mind  was  filled  with 
thoughts  of  all  the  kindness  shown  me  by  these 
good  people  who  had  known  me  in  my  prime.  It 
was  like  turning  back  the  pages  in  life's  book  and 


3o6  Diomed 

reading  youth's  story  over  again,  —  this  dehghttul 
evening  in  my  birthplace. 

If  you  have  followed  mv  rambling  talk  this  tar, 
vou  mav  be  willing  to  hear  something  of  the  new 
home  to  which  I  was  transferred.  Here  I  must 
step  aside  for  a  short  while  and  let  mv  master  talk. 
Williamsburg  is  a  favorite  topic  with  him.  He  is 
fond  ot  saying  that  a  Virginian  who  does  not  know 
Williamsburg  argues  himself  unknown.  Mv  master 
affects  oratory  sometimes.  I  have  heard  it  hinted  — 
with  what  justice  I  know  not —  that  he  is  not  alwavs 
successful  in  convincing  human  beings ;  but  J  am 
certain  that  if  dogs  could  vote,  master  would  be 
elected  to  any  office  within  the  gift  of  the  people  — 
and  the  dogs. 

Once,  when  he  and  I  went  down  together  to  the 
Williamsburg  market,  a  group  of  the  citizens  sur- 
rounded him  and  asked  him  to  give  his  opinion  of 
the  place.  Williams|3urg  is  still  a  great  place  for 
public  speaking. 

Mounting  a  store  box,  he  bowed,  smiled  a  gen- 
uine political,  vard-wide  smile  upon  his  auditors, 
ran  his  fingers  through  his  hair,  handed  his  hat  to 
a  freckled-faced  mulatto  man  who  stood  by  holding 
a  bunch  of  muskrat  skins,  cleared  his  throat,  struck 
an  attitude  and  began  — 

"  Fellow-citizens  of  W^illiamsburg  I  Of  the  Citv 
of  Williamsburg  !  A'irginia  ! 

"  You  are,  beyond  a  doubt,  the  most  remarkable 
population ;  and  you  live  in  the  most  remarkable 
citv  in  all  America.  I  love  vou,  and  my  affections 
cling  about  this  old  town,  and  about  every  broken 
brick-bat  it  contains,  although   there  is  little  left  of 


Diomed  307 

it  besides  grave-vard  mould.  I  am  so  poor,  and  so 
prolific,  that  I  have  to  work  ;  therefore,  I  left  you, 
and  went  to  live  in  New  York.  I  work  there,  and 
come  here  to  enjov  mvselh  It  I  had  money  enough, 
or  few  enough  dependent  on  me,  to  justify  it,  I 
would  come  here  to  live,  and  go  to  New  York, 
now  and  then,  to  enjoy  myself." 

At  this  point  a  citizen  dropped  a  flat  bottle. 
The  crowd  was  deeply  agitated  at  siQ;ht  of  so 
much  liquor  lost.  Groans  were  heard  in  the  audi- 
ence. Master,  thinking  the  groans  were  directed  at 
him,  suspended  his  remarks,  and  said  with  an  in- 
jured air  that  he  would  not  tax  their  patience  longer. 
The  incident  was  explained  to  the  speaker  by  Frank 
Wolff,  a  leading  citizen.  The  explanation  of  the 
groans  was  so  reasonable,  that  master,  reassured  and 
comforted,  resumed,  amid  loud  cries  of  "Go  on  —  Go 
on  —  Go  on." 

"Your  charter  was  granted  to  you  earlier  than  that 
of  New  York.  You  bore  the  name  of  England's 
King  when  New  York  was  still  the  Dutch  settle- 
ment of  New  Amsterdam. 

"  New  Yorkers  are  proud  of  the  growth  of  their 
city  in  trade,  wealth,  and  population.  The  pride 
and  boast  of  Williamsburg  is  that  it  has  no  wealth 
or  trade  ;  and  that  its  population  is  less  than  it  was 
a  hundred  years  ago.  This  ambition,  or  lack  of  it, 
is  at  least  unique.  New  York  mav  be  the  Atlas 
of  Commerce,  bearing  the  trade  of  all  nations  upon 
its  back.  But  Williamsburg  is  the  Diogenes  of  Cor- 
porations ;  having  nothing,  wanting  nothing,  asking 
nothing,  save  that  the  sunlight  in  which  its  burghers 
bask  in  idleness  be  not  obstructed  by  intruders. 


3o8  Diomed 

"  Once  you  were  the  capital  of  the  most  important 
colony  in  North  America. 

"  Once  a  King  and  Oueen  of  England  founded  here 
a  great  seat  of  learning,  named  after  themselves,  the 
College  of  William  and  Mary  in  Virginia — a  col- 
lege second  only  in  point  of  age  to  Harvard. 

"  Once  your  town  was  the  centre  of  colonial 
wealth  and  learning  and  social  life. 

"Where  are  we  now,  my  fellow-citizens  ?  " 

(Loud  cries  ot  "We're  all  right!"  and  tuneful 
chorus  of  "  There  are  no  flies  on  us  !  ") 

"  We  are  standing  upon  a  street  a  mile  long,  a  dirt 
street  wider  than  Broadway  or  the  Strand.  It  is 
named  after  the  great  Duke  of  Gloucester.  True, 
the  next  and  only  other  street  in  Williamsburg 
tumbles  from  that  aristocratic  title  to  the  common- 
place cognomen  of  '  Woodpecker  Street ' ;  but  this 
noble  boulevard  is,  I  repeat,  called  '  Duke  of 
Gloucester  Street.'  He  said  of  himself,  according 
to  Shakespeare,  that  he  was  '  rude,  misshapen,  born 
before  his  time ;  rushed  into  this  breathing  world 
but  half  made  up,'  etc.  How  appropriately  the 
same  may  be  said  of  the  street  which  bears  his 
name  !  Now  this  is  what  I  call  the  eternal  fitness 
of  things.      Look  down  it,  and  what  do  you  see  ?  " 

("  I  see  Jim  Olvis'  little  steer  haulin'  a  load  of 
pine  shatters  for  his  pig-pen,"  proclaimed  Sam 
Maupin,  at  the  top  of  his  voice.) 

"  Ah  !  my  friends,"  said  master,  with  a  truly 
dramatic  pose,  "beyond  Jim  Olvis'  tumble  cart  and 
steer  and  load  of  pine  tags,  behold  the  crumbling 
foundations  of  what  was  once  the  capitol  of  Vir- 
ginia !  " 


Diomed  309 

("You  bet!"  shouted  a  by-stander  ;  "I  built  a 
chimbley  for  my  house  out  er  some  of  them  old 
bricks,  last  year  ;  and  they're  better  bricks  now  than 
the  new  ones  they  are  makin'  at  the  King's  Landing." 

"  Well,  let  it  go  at  that,"  said  master.  "  A  capi- 
tol  is  a  drawback  to  the  peace  of  a  conmiunity  any- 
how.) 

"  Look  up  the  street  !  "  said  he,  resuming. 
"  There,  at  its  other  end,  stands  what  is  left  of  your 
College  of  William  and  Mary  ! 

"There  is  the  old  Brafferton  House,  the  gift  of 
Englishmen  before  the  Revolution  ! 

"  There  is  the  house  the  French  King  built  to 
replace  the  one  his  soldiers  burnt ! 

"  There  is  the  old  college,  originally  constructed 
after  designs  made  by  Sir  Christopher  Wren  ;  thrice 
burned,  and  thrice  rebuilt. 

"  Who  can  help  taking  off  his  hat  to  these  old 
landmarks  ? 

"  Look  over  the  way  ! 

"  There  is  where  the  Colonial  Palace  stood  ! 

"  It  is  true  that  not  one  brick  of  it  is  on  top 
another. 

"  But  the  free-school  on  the  palace  site  is  better 
than  the  palace  of  a  king's  minion. 

"  What  was  once  the  exclusive  palace  green  is 
now  a  common  for  republican  cows.  It  needs  no 
other  decoration  than  the  wealth  of  buttercups  the 
springtime  brings. 

"True  that  until  recently  cows  have  been  kept 
in  the  historic  magazine  where  was  stored  the  Brit- 
ish powder;  seized  when  Dunmore  fled,  in  Revolu- 
tionary days ;  but  cows,  like  powder,  make  cowherds." 


3 10  Diomed 

("  It's  milkin'  time,"  shouted  a  wag  at  the  owner 
of  that  magazine,  who  stood  there  Hstening  and 
grinning.) 

"It  is  true  that  the  Raleigh  Tavern  at  which  colo- 
nial wit  and  beauty  and  valor  assembled  in  colonial 
days  is  gone. 

"  Burnt  down  —  unrestored  —  and  that  is  the  most 
surprising  thing  of  all. 

"  Who  would  have  believed  that  Williamsburg 
would  let  its  best  rum-mill  go  to  wreck  and  ruin  ? 

"And  there,  out  in  the  open  air,  warmed  by  the 
sun,  and  wet  by  the  dew,  stands  the  knock-kneed 
statue,  in  marble,  of  Norborne  Berkeley,  Lord  Bote- 
tourt ;  erected  to  his  memory,  and  presented  to  this 
great  city,  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  by  Vir- 
ginia's House  of  Burgesses  ! 

"  How  cold  the  old  man  looks  ! 

"  What  a  desolate  spectacle  he  is  with  his  nose 
gone,  and  the  decorated  plinth  on  which  he  stands 
still  bespattered  with  the  lead  from  hostile  bullets, 
shot  against  it  in  a  battle  here,  thirty  years  ago  ! 

"  Why  do  you  not  build  a  shed,  however  humble, 
to  shield  the  bared  head  of  his  lordship  ?  Be  not 
iconoclasts,  and  save  him  before  he  disintegrates, 
in  honor  of  his  humility  in  standing  before  you 
uncovered  for  more  than  a  hundred  years." 

(This  produced  great  applause.  The  word  "  icono- 
clasts "  delighted  the  darkies.  "Can't  he  talk!" 
shouted  they,  and  silence  was  restored.) 

"  My  fellow-citizens,  these  old  things  are  the 
crowning  glory  of  your  town,  if  you  w^ill  but  take 
the  trouble  to  preserve  them. 

"  Let  it  not  be  said  of  you  that  you  are  citizens 


Diomed  '^  i  i 

of  a  place  where  the  dead  still  live,  and  the  living 
are  dead  before  the  breath  leaves  their  bodv. 

"  These  are  the  homes  of  the  Randolphs,  the 
Pages,  the  Wythes,  the  Blands,  the  Blairs,  the 
Berkelevs,  the  Custises,  the  Peachys,  the  Carys, 
and  all   the  rest. 

"  Many  ot  them  are  already  gone.  Such  as 
remain  should  be  preserved  as  the  most  precious 
relics  lett  to  you. 

"  Williamsburg  of  to-day  is  but  an  insignificant 
village.  Williamsburg  of  the  past  is  an  immortal 
and  glorious  spot,  around  which  the  affections  of 
every  lover  of  our  early  history  linger  with  unspeak- 
able veneration.  Blot  out  that  glorious  past,  and 
what  will  be  lett  of  the  dear  old  town  ? 

"All  that  is  lett  ot  it  in  the  present  is  the  charity 
school  taufrht  in  poor  old  William  and  Mary's  ruins, 
the  tunds  tor  which  were  given  to  you  by  the  federal 
government,  and  a  state  asylum  tor  the  insane. 

"  My  father  once  described  the  town  as  it  is,  as 
'  Five  hundred  lazy  watchino-  six  hundred  crazy.' 

"  But  that  is  not  all  of  Williamsburg.  Look 
across  the  street  ! 

"  Look  at  that  grand  old  church,  built  two  hun- 
dred years  ago,  surrounded  by  its  solid  walls  of 
English  brick,  enclosing;  God's  acre  !  How  noble 
still  are  its  proportions  !  How  beautiful  its  oriel 
window,  and  the  ivy  covering  its  old  gables  !  With- 
out and  within,  it  alone  of  all  the  things  in  Wil- 
liamsburg is  '  the  sole  indestructible  thing  time  has 
touched  with  no  change.'  It  stands  there,  in  spite 
of  the  touch  ot  time,  the  blasts  of  war,  and  the  pass- 
ing away  ot  your  ancient  importance.      If  the  wor- 


312  Diomed 

shippers  buried  in  its  graveyard  a  hundred  years 
ago  could  come  back,  they  would  receive  the  Holy 
Communion  from  the  same  service  which  was  in  use 
when  they  w'ere  alive,  —  a  silver  service  presented 
to  Bruton  Parish  by  Queen  Anne.  That  sacrament 
would  still  be  administered  to  them  now,  according 
to  the  ancient  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Church 
of  England  as  they  knew  them,  little  altered  in 
a  century. 

"  When  you  feel  that  all  else  is  dark  in  your 
midst,  remember  that  its  light  still  shines  before 
men,  that  they  may  know  your  good  works,  and 
glorify  the  past  of  dear  old  Williamsburg. 

"  When  all  else  is  still,  its  organ  peals  forth 
through  its  stained  windows,  and  its  clambering 
ivy,  across  the  graves,  bringing  to  us  the  peace  of 
God  which  passeth  all  understanding. 

"Where  all  else  is  changed,  the  old  tower  rears 
itself  intact,  surrounded  by  the  brick  walls  of  its 
enclosure,  proud  and  serene;  as  if  it  were  the  last 
general,  standing  with  smiling  face  in  the  centre  of 
the  last  square  that  can  be  formed  against  the  des- 
perate assaults  of  time  in  its  battle  against  your 
city. 

"  Whatever  else  is  changed,  however  much  decay 
and  decline  may  have  set  their  gnawing  teeth  in 
the  old  things  here,  these  are  left  to  tell  the  tale 
of  a  nobler  and  better  day.  Cherish  them  and  pre- 
serve them,  my  fellow-citizens,  as  the  immediate 
jewels  of  your  soul ;  and  remember  that  it  is  a  duty 
which  you  o\ye,  not  only  to  yourselv^es,  but  to  all 
the  sons  of  dear  old  Virg-inia  who  love  and  honor 
her  ancient  elory,  whether  like  you  they  still  remain 


DIonied  J  I J 

upon  her  soil,  or  like  me  have  wandered  away. 
You  are  one  ot  the  few  comnumities  where  the  old 
English  stock,  planted  on  this  continent  nearly  three 
centuries  ago,  still  remains  unmixed  with  foreign 
strains ;  and,  whatever  may  be  said  of  your  lack 
of  thrift  and  enterprise,  I  love  you  as  the  gentlest, 
most  law-abiding,  and  most  hospitable  people  in 
America." 

The  crowd  gave  three  cheers  for  master,  and  drew 
near  to  him,  shaking  his  hands. 

But  so  tar  as  I  can  see  things  have  gone  on  in 
Williamsburg  since  then  just  about  as  they  did  be- 
fore, tor  Williamsburgers  are  not  fond  of  agitation. 

Master's  brother  is  deeply  attached  to  the  old 
place,  and  will  probably  remain  there  all  his  life. 
His  residence  is  a  comfortable  brick  structure,  over 
a  hundred  years  old.  Without  any  pretence  to 
architectural  beauty,  it  is  built  after  the  fashion  of 
the  English  in  colonial  days,  —  roomy,  with  thick 
walls,  and  high  wainscotted  ceilings. 

These  new  houses  built  nowadays  are  not,  after 
all,  as  comfortable  as  the  old  ones. 

Williamsburg  may  not  be  a  good  place  for  an 
ambitious  man  to  live  ;  but  I  can  testify  that  it  is 
a  glorious  place  for  an  old  dog  to  go  to  die  in  peace. 

If  you  doubt  whether  I  was  made  comfortable 
there,  look  at  the  spot,  in  the  hall-way,  where  a 
sheepskin  was  spread  for  me  every  night  during 
that  winter. 

Who  among  the  owners  of  new-fashioned  houses, 
has  any  prettier  staircase  than  that  in  our  old  house .^ 

The  picture  represents  Miss  Virginia,  the  doctor's 
daughter,  as  she  retired,  lamp  in  hand,  peeping  over 


314 


DIomed 


the  landing  of  the  stah-wav,  to  see  that  I  was  com- 
fortable for  the  night.  At  the  moment  represented 
in  this  sketch,  master  and  the  doctor  were  playing 
cribbage  in  the  room  to  the  left. 

The  day  after  our  arrival  the  doctor  made  his 
examination  of  me  and  determined  upon  an  opera- 
tion on  my  ear.  I  had  a  notion  it  was  to  be  a  very 
serious  and  painful  affair.  My  apprehensions  did 
not  abate  when  the  doctor  displaved  the  knives  and 
scissors  in  his  case  of  instruments.  Master  placed 
me  between  his  knees,  mv  back  towards  him,  laid 
my  head  gently  to  one  side,  took  my  muzzle  in  one 
hand,  and  laid  back  my  ear  with  the  other.  I  closed 
my  eyes,  clenched  my  teeth,  and  took  a  long  breath. 
"Now  for  it!"  thought  I.  It  was  so  soon  over 
that  I  was  surprised  when  I  was  released.  A  quick, 
clean  stroke  of  the  knife,  and  a  sharp  clip  ot  the 
scissors,  completed  the  job.  No  dressing  or  band- 
ages   were    necessary.       Within    a    short    time,    the 


Diotned  ]I5 

trouble  which  had  annoyed  nie  so  long  was  a  thing 
of  the  past.  Ihe  condition  pills  also  did  their  work 
well.  Besides  this  treatment  the  doctor  gave  me 
a  nov^el  diet.  Sturgeons  were  verv  plentiful  at 
Williamsburg.  He  ted  me  on  boiled  sturgeon. 
It  is  a  very  oily  fish,  and  the  effects  of  eating  it 
are  those  resulting  from  a  treatment  of  cod-liver  oil. 
The  oil  of  that  sturgeon  seemed  to  lubricate  every 
joint  in  my  poor  old  bodv;  and  my  hair,  which  had 
been  harsh  and  dry  to  the  touch  and  was  all  turned 
the  wrong  way,  shed  off.  I  soon  had  a  new  coat, 
fresh  and  glossy  as  that  of  Young  Di. 

When  master  returned,  —  he  came  to  Williams- 
burg oftener  than  he  had  done  to  Snowden,  —  he 
found  me  looking  wonderfully  improved. 

In  the  autumn  I  felt  as  if  I  was  quite  ready  for 
the  shooting  season.  Thinking  I  was  done  for, 
master  brought  with  him,  when  he  came  down. 
Young  Di,  and  a  beautitul  setter,  named  Minnie, 
presented  to  him  by  a  friend.  I  protested  against 
being  left  behind,  and  all  three  of  us  hunted  together. 
Young  Di,  Minnie,  and  myseU.  It  was  all  very 
well  to  boast  that  I  was  as  fit  as  these  youngsters, 
but  I  soon  satisfied  myself  that  I  could  not  keep 
up  with  them.  I  made  a  great  show  of  speed  and 
dash  in  the  morning,  but  by  the  time  midday  came, 
the  youngsters  outfooted  me  in  a  way  that  was 
humiliating.  That  season  was  a  very  poor  one  for 
birds.  The  two  hard  winters,  following  each  other 
so  closely,  made  it  more  difficult  to  find  one  bird, 
now,  than  it  had  been,  before,  to  find  a  bevy. 
Hunting  hour  after  hour  without  discovering  a  sign 
of  game,  in   places  where  they   once  swarmed,  dis- 


3i6  Di 


loniec 


gusted  the  men.  We  would  go  out  and  beat  about 
until  middav,  with  no  luck  to  encourage  us.  Then 
master  and  his  brother  would  find  a  comfortable 
place,  on  the  slope  of  some  of  the  old  fortifications 
about  the  battle-fields  of  Williamsburg,  and  would 
lie  there,  sunning  themselves,  and  talking,  for  hours. 
Then  we  would  give  up  hope  of  finding  game,  and 
go  home.  Time  was,  when  this  sort  of  thing  would 
have  frenzied  me  with  impatience  ;  but  now,  it 
seemed  very  comfortable,  after  the  morning  run. 
When  master  went  away  he  left  Minnie  to  be  my 
companion.  All  during  the  autumn,  the  doctor 
took  Minnie  and  myself  about  with  him  in  his 
buggv,  and  varied  the  monotony  of  his  professional 
rounds  with  shooting.  It  was  easy  work,  just  suited 
to  my  taste,  but  that  Minnie  was  too  quick  for  me, 
and  found  the  greater  part  of  the  bevies. 

During  this  season,  also,  I  became  much  attached 
to,  and  hunted  a  great  deal  with,  a  man  who  deserves 
to  be  ranked  as  a  first-class  hunter  in  any  company. 
His  name  is  Floyd  Powell.  He  is  one  of  three 
brothers  who  reside  not  far  from  Williamsburg,  and 
are  as  reliable  and  untiring  huntsmen  as  ever  went 
afield.  It  is  surprising  how  the  game  has  remained 
upon  this  narrow  peninsula  notwithstanding  it  was 
the  first  spot  settled  in  America.  I  have  referred 
to  the  decimation  of  the  quails  ;  but  they  will  be 
back  in  a  few  years.  And  the  hard  winter  did  not 
destroy  either  the  deer  or  the  turkeys  hereabouts; 
in  fact,  they  seem  to  have  increased  rather  than 
diminished. 

Turkeys  are  hatching  now  upon  the  identical 
spots  where  they  bred  in  1612,  when  Powhatan  capt- 


Diomed  -^ly 

ured  them  and  sent  twenty  live  turkeys  as  a  gift  to 
his  brother  king  of  England  ;  and  deer  are  found 
just  where  John  Smith  put  his  pictures  of  them  on 
the  map  of  Virginia  made  bv  him  in  1608, 

If  you  will  look  at  the  list  of  one  hundred  men 
who  came  with  John  Smith  in  1607  and  settled 
Jamestown,  you  will  see  among  the  number  the 
name  of  James  Powell.  Both  master  and  his 
brother,  the  doctor,  believe  that  these  Powell  boys 
are  descendants  of  that  man,  and  that  their  inti- 
mate knowledge  of  woodcraft  springs  from  its  con- 
tinuous practise  by  their  ancestors  and  themselves 
upon  this  identical  range,  for  nearly  three  centuries. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  I  am  confident  that  no  better  or 
more  successful  or  more  eager  hunters  ever  lived 
than  these  three  men.  Never  a  duck  feeds,  or  a 
turkey  hatches,  or  a  deer  ranges,  within  twenty 
miles  of  their  home,  but  they  know  the  full  par- 
ticulars ;  and,  at  every  season  of  the  year,  they  are 
toiling  and  trapping  and  hunting  and  fishing,  with 
the  unsatisfied  quest  of  Indians. 

Notwithstanding  my  infirmities,  the  doctor  was 
not  constant  enough  in  his  shooting  to  satisfy  me. 
One  morning  Floyd  Powell  appeared  with  a  fine 
young  gobbler  thrown  over  his  shoulder,  and,  after 
depositing  him  near  the  kitchen,  asked  the  doctor 
if  he  could  not  loan  me  to  him.  He  knew  me  well, 
for  Floyd  and  master  and  I  were  old  friends.  He 
explained  that  his  old  setter  was  so  crippled  with 
rheumatism  from  retrieving  ducks  that  he  could  not 
move  about,  and  that  he  needed  a  turkey  dog  sadly. 
"  Why,  he  cannot  stand  the  work,"  protested  the 
doctor.     "Oh,  yes  he  can.      Turkey-hunting  is  easy. 


3i8 


Diomed 


and  a  little  work  is  better  tor  him  than  idleness. 
You'll  go  with  me,  won't  vou,  Di  r  "  said  Powell, 
and  I  told  him  I  would  so  unmistakably  that  it 
was  soon  settled;  and  Floyd  and  I  trotted  off  to  the 
woods  as  delis^hted  as  two  schoolboys  bound  for 
a  cherry  tree. 


With  Floyd  at  Jamestown. 

For  two  weeks,  until  his  own  dog  recovered, 
Floyd  and  I  were  inseparable  companions.  Time 
and  time  again  we  made  the  circuit  of  old  Williams- 
burg ;  now  on  the  banks  of  the  historic  York  after 
the  descendants  of  Powhatan's  turkeys;  now  on  Gov- 
ernor Berkeley's  plantation  of  Green  Springs,  upon 
the  James,  deer-huntincr ;    and  again,  crouched  and 


Diomed  "^tq 

stealing  through  the  marshes  of  Jamestown  to  get 
a  shot  at  the  geese  or  ducks  that  fed  along  the 
shores.  It  was  my  first  experience  at  deer-hunting, 
and,  while  I  took  no  part  in  the  chase,  I  was  crouch- 
ing at  Floyd  Powell's  side  on  two  occasions  ;  once 
when  he  shot  a  fine  young  spike  buck,  and  again 
when  he  toppled  over  a  handsome  doe.  "  Why 
have  I  grown  so  old  before  1  knew  the  pleasures 
of  deer-huntino;  ?  "  thoucrht  I  to  mvself  as  I  smelt 
about  the  muzzle  of  our  last  victim,  feehng  like 
a  youngster  in  the  presence  of  such  royal  sport. 
Floyd  was  as  thoughtful  of  me  as  if  I  had  been  a 
human  being.  When  our  trips  were  long,  he  took 
me  in  his  buggy  to  the  shooting-grounds  ;  and,  in 
the  blind  he  wrapped  the  horse  blanket  or  his  over- 
coat about  me,  to  keep  me  warm.  Sometimes,  how- 
ever, when  we  made  long  passages  afoot  through  the 
woods,  his  silent  stride  was  so  quick  and  so  long, 
and  his  rests  so  far  apart,  that  he  gave  me  all  I 
could  do  to  keep  up  with  him. 

Neither  on  the  prairies  of  the  West  or  of  Texas, 
nor  elsewhere,  have  I  ever  hunted  for  a  better  shot 
or  more  indefatigable  hunter  than  Floyd  Powell. 

When  we  drove  up  in  his  horse-cart  to  the 
doctor's,  late  one  evening,  I  curled  up  on  the 
straw  against  the  body  of  a  deer,  I  felt  very  re- 
gretful that  his  own  dog  was  well  again,  and  that 
my  days  of  hunting  with  Floyd  Powell  were  at 
an   end. 

"Did  he  hunt.^"  said  Floyd,  in  answer  to  the 
doctor's  question.  "  Yes,  indeed,  doctor,  the  old 
fellow  loves  it  still ;  and  he  is  better  now  than  half 
the  young  ones." 


320  Diomed 

After  that,  whenever  Floyd  came  to  our  house, 
he  would  ask  for  me,  and  draw  from  the  pocket 
of  his  hunting-coat  a  little  scrap  of  deer  meat,  or 
biscuit,  or  something,  for  me  ;  and  promise  to  take 
me  out  again  when  the  weather  was  less  severe. 
But  before  that  promise  could  be  performed,  I  was 
unable  to  keep  my  part  of  the  contract. 

When  spring  came,  in  1894,  master,  as  usual, 
appeared  in  quest  of  snipe.  I  had  passed  through 
a  third  winter  of  bitter  cold  and  storms,  and  felt  its 
effects  very  perceptibly.  On  this  visit,  his  shoot- 
ing-companions were  Mr.  Selden  and  a  bustling 
little  man  from  New  York,  whom  they  called  Gen- 
eral. He  was  one  of  the  most  restless,  energetic 
men  1  ever  saw.  As  I  looked  him  over,  and 
watched  his  movements,  I  could  not  but  think 
what  shooting  we  would  have  had  together  if  we 
had  met  five  years  earlier.  He  took  quite  an  inter- 
est in  me,  and  insisted  that  Minnie  and  I  should  be 
taken  into  the  wagon,  when  he  rode  out  to  view  the 
battle-fields,  upon  the  evening  of  his  arrival.  Minnie 
bounced  in,  from  the  ground,  when  invited,  but  it 
was  beyond  mv  strength  to  do  so.  Master,  seeing 
my  weakness,  lifted  me  up.  When  we  arrived  at 
the  place  where  we  stopped  to  examine  the  works, 
he  gently  lifted  me  out  of  the  wagon.  Once  on 
the  ground,  I  could  move  about  quite  comfortably. 
The  general  said  that  the  way  I  hunted  was  quite 
surprising,  considering  my  age.  We  found  a  bevy 
of  birds,  for  the  spring  opened  late  and  the  birds 
had  not  mated.  I  pointed  one  or  two  birds,  but, 
of  course,  they  were  not  shot  at.  Birds  were  too 
scarce  in  these  days  to  shoot  them  near  the  approach 


Diomed  321 

of  the  breeding  season,  even  if  our  men  had  been 
so  unsportsmanHke. 

The  next  mornino:,  when  the  vvafjon  was  at  the 
door  to  take  the  party  to  the  snipe  marshes  at 
Jamestown,  mv  friend,  the  general,  seeing  me  beg- 
ging to  go,  insisted  that  I  be  permitted  to  do  so. 
"  Oh !  no,"  said  master.  "  He  cannot  stand  it. 
The  marshes  are  quite  wet.  We  would  kill  him." 
But  the  general  insisted ;  and  I  looked  so  plead- 
ingly, that  they  lifted  me  into  the  wagon.  My  ! 
Didn't  1  enjoy  that  day?  Not  for  the  shooting; 
for  1  was  soon  utterly  fagged  out;  but  the  fun  those 
men  had  was  to  me  like  a  glimpse  of  old  times.  As 
for  the  general,  he  distinguished  himself  by  breaking 
a  plank  as  he  was  crossing  upon  it  at  a  wide  ditch 
in  the  swamp.  He  took  a  header,  and  fell  into  the 
water,  sinking  out  of  sight,  for  it  was  yery  deep. 
He  lost  his  gun,  and  came  near  drowning.  He  had 
been  a  Union  general.  Master,  who  was  an  old 
rebel,  declared  that  the  way  the  accident  happened 
was,  that  he  pointed  out  to  the  general  a  Confeder- 
ate breastwork,  on  Jamestown  Island  ;  at  sight  of 
which,  the  general  ran  off,  threw  his  gun  into  the 
creek,  and  jumped  in  after  it.  It  cost  the  general  a 
round  sum  to  recover  the  gun.  He  paid  a  man  to 
dive  for  it.  When  we  reached  home  late  that  night 
I  was  stiff  in  every  joint.  I  had  not  greatly  exposed 
myself,  but  the  little  I  did  was  enough  ;  and,  during 
the  painful  hours  of  that  wretched  night,  I  realized, 
more  fully  than  at  any  time  before,  that  my  hunting- 
days  were  over.  It  was  the  last  time  I  ever  saw 
Mr.  Selden. 

A  month  later  a  great  pleasure  was  in  store  for 


322 


Diomed 


me.  Little  master  came.  How  I  love  that  boy  ! 
I  had  not  seen  him  for  years.  Next  to  master  he 
is  the  one  dearest  to  me  on  earth.  We  three  are 
more  devoted  to  hunting  than  any  of  the  others. 
He  called  us  the  three  mousquetaires,  whatever  that 
may  mean.  When  I  was  a  puppy,  and  he  a  boy  in 
knee  breeches,  we  began  shooting  together.  When 
I  first  heard  that  he  was  to  be  an  Army  officer,  I 
thought  it  might  so  happen  that  he  would  come, 
and  take  me  with  him  to  the  frontier,  where  we 
could  once  more  meet  and  hunt  with  Buckshot  and 
Rowdy.  But  it  is  too  late  now.  Poor  old  Di  will 
never  see  the  western  plains  again.  The  prairie 
flowers  will  bloom  again  ;  but  not  for  him.  I  had  a 
present  ready  for  young  master  when  he  should 
come.  A  present  which  will  recall  me  often,  I 
think,  to  his  remembrance.  One  day  Miss  Virginia 
read  a  letter,  saying  that  he  had  finished  school  ; 
graduated,  I  think  they  call  it ;  had  received  his 
commission,  I  think  she  said  ;  and  was  coming  to 
pay  his  uncle  a  visit.  In  this  letter  he  sent  his  love 
to  me.  "  Di,  Hugh  sends  his  love  to  you,"  laughed 
she,  adding,  in  an  aside  to  her  father,  "  I'll  wager 
Di  will  not  know  him." 

A  few  days  after  that,  lying  on  the  rear  porch,  I 
heard  the  front  gate  slammed  violently.  In  my  old 
age,  I  have  become  quite  a  fierce  guard  dog.  So  I 
trotted  around  the  house,  barking.  Who  should  I 
see  there  but  a  trim  young  man  in  soldier's  clothes. 
Know  him  ?  Of  course,  I  knew  him.  Could  I 
forget  that  tawnv  hair,  which  I  saw  rise  from  the 
waters  of  Lake  Chetac  eight  years  ago  ?  —  Or  those 
blue  eyes  ?  —  Or  that  smile  of  his  mother,  the  best 


Diomed  323 

inheritance  of  an  oldest  son  ?  No,  no,  indeed. 
Clothe  him  in  any  dress  you  will  ;  keep  him  away 
as  long  as  you  may  ;  let  him  be  all  the  man  he  is  ; 
but  I  would  know  him  anywhere  ;  and,  to  me,  he  is, 
and  ever  will  be,  not  a  man  or  a  soldier,  but  my 
own  sweet  boy,  my  own  youth's  companion.  Betore 
he  could  confirm  my  recognition  by  the  sound  of 
his  voice,  calling,  "  Here,  Di  —  Here,  Di,"  I  knew 
him.  I  was  not  too  old  or  too  weak  to  spring  into 
those  open  arms,  that  hugged  me  until  1  thought 
my  poor  old  ribs  would  crack ;  and  it  was  with 
something  like  a  contemptuous  feeling  of  resent- 
ment, that  I  heard  Miss  Virginia  say,  as  she  came 
out  to  greet  him,  "  I  really  do  believe  he  recognizes 
you,  Hugh." 

We  sat  on  the  shaded  portico.  She  in  her  easy 
chair,  he  upon  the  steps,  and  I,  beside  him,  with  my 
head  resting  lovingly  against  his  striped  trousers. 
As  he  talked  with  her,  his  hand  strayed  gently  over 
my  head,  which  lay  quite  still  beneath  his  grateful 
stroking.  When,  in  his  earnest  conversation  with 
his  cousin  he  forgot  to  continue  his  caresses,  I  would 
nudge  him  gently,  appealing  for  more  ;  repeating  to 
myself  the  while,  "  They  said  I  would  not  know 
him." 

Then  I  took  him  to  the  stable,  where  Minnie 
was,  and  I  showed  him  there,  seven  little  lemon  and 
white  setter  pups,  one  of  them  with  lemon  ears  and 
a  lemon  lozenge  on  the  occiput.  I  knew  as  well, 
beforehand,  as  I  did  afterwards,  which  puppy  he 
would  choose.  He  picked  out  the  one  looking  so 
much  like  the  pup  master  had  selected  eleven  years 
ago,  and  named  him  Diomed  II. 


3^4 


Diomed 


This  was  the  present  I  told  you  I  was  keeping  for 
little  master.  And  Diomed  II.,  the  very  living 
image  of  his  poor  old  dad  when  he  was  young,  is 
now  at  school  in  Mississippi.  Some  day,  when  I 
am  gone,  he  and  little  master,  in  the  army  of  the 
West,  will  be  hunting  with  a  young  Rowdy,  on  the 
rolling  prairies  of  Texas  or  Oklahoma.     It  comforts 


"They   said   I    would   nut   know   him." 

me  to  think  that  at  such  a  time  they  will  sometimes  re- 
member their  fathers,  and  talk  ot  master  and  old  Di. 
That  boy  was  a  perfect  fidget.  He  was  not  still 
for  a  minute  at  a  time.  After  his  fiye  years  confine- 
ment, he  was  like  a  bird  out  of  a  cage.  I  wanted 
him  to  sit  down  with  me  as  we  did  the  day  he  came. 
There  was  nothing  to  shoot  at  that  season.  But,  as 
he  could  not  shoot,  he  was  keen  for  fishing.  The 
mill  ponds  about  Williamsburg  are  filled  with  large- 
mouthed    bass,    called    chub    in    this    locality ;    and 


Diomed  ^^25 

then,  was  there  not  fine  shooting  at  young  squirrels 
and  bull-frogs,  with  the  rifle  ?  Little  master  and 
the  doctor's  son,  a  youth  somewhat  his  junior,  were 
going  all  the  while  ;  and  he  was  neyer  satisfied  unless 
1  accompanied  them.  He  did  not  realize  —  that 
young  bundle  of  nervous  energy  —  that  I  was  no 
longer  the  young  Di  which  he  had  known.  I  tried 
to  be  game  to  the  last ;  but,  many  a  time  I  said 
to  myself,  as  I  dragged  myself  about  through  the 
woods  after  him,  "  Heavens  !  It  that  boy  ever  has 
a  company  of  soldiers,  he  will  march  them  to  death." 
He  had  a  camera  with  him  ;  and  before  he  went 
away,  he  insisted  upon  making  a  picture  of  me.  I 
did  all  I  could  to  avoid  this.  He  had  excellent 
pictures  of  me  as  a  puppy  and  as  a  grown  dog.  I 
knew  how  I  had  changed.  I  was  ashamed  that  any 
one  should  see  me  as  I  now  looked.  But  it  was 
idle  to  protest.  He  would  have  the  picture.  I 
sincerely  trust  that  his  negative  was  destroyed  ;  or, 
at  least,  that  no  one  who  sees  the  prints  will  hav^e 
opportunity  to  contrast  the  old  wreck  they  depict 
with  his  likeness  when  he  was  a  youth.  He  chose 
old  Bruton  Parish  Church  for  his  background,  with 
me  sitting  among  the  gravestones.  How  ghastly 
appropriate  !  I  am  the  only  livino;  object  on  the 
scene.  It  will  not  be  long  before  I  join  the  others. 
I  feel  that  I  am  almost  there.  You  cannot  read  the 
epitaphs  or  see  the  armorial  bearings,  on  these 
tombstones,  dear  reader  ;  but  they  are  there.  With 
arms,  and  crests,  and  mottoes,  they  tell,  with  circum- 
stance and  pomp,  how  good  and  great  these  poor 
old  people  were.  Represented  greater,  perhaps,  and 
better,  than,  in  life,  they  knew  themselves  to  be. 


326  Diomed 

And  who  remembers  them  now  ? 

\Vhv,  if  my  pedigree  was  placed  beside  theirs,  it 
is  longer  ;  and  more  of  my  ancestors  are  known  ; 
and  they  go  back  through  more  generations,  than 
those  of  any  of  the  dead  described  upon  these  head- 
stones. Yet  I  do  not  lay  claim  to  their  intelligence, 
their  worth,  or  their  immortality  ;  I  do  not  hope  to 
have  my  story  preserved  in  marble,  or  my  grave 
marked  by  a  stone.  If  my  master,  while  he  lives,  and 
young  master,  when  master  is  gone,  remember  me, 
the  cup  of  my  ambition  will  be  filled  to  the  brim. 

Thinking  over  my  life,  I  can  say,  with  truth,  that  I 
have,  from  the  day  I  was  born,  loved  loyally,  fought 
valiantly,  and  filled  the  place  assigned  to  me  by 
nature,  and  nature's  God,  to  the  best  of  my  ability. 

Could  any  creature,  man  or  beast,  do  more  than 
this  ?  The  man  who,  as  he  feels  the  mortal  hour 
approaching,  can  truthfully  say  as  much,  may  greet 
death  calmly,  and  pass  from  the  earth  with  no  more 
fear  concerning  his  future  state  than  if  he  were  a  dog. 

There  was  nothing  to  hunt  in  the  autumn  of 
1894.  If  untold  numbers  of  quail  had  swarmed 
in  every  field,  poor  old  Di  would  not  have  troubled 
them.  My  hunting-days  are  over  now,  forever. 
For  hours  at  a  time  I  lie  stretched  in  the  sun  upon 
the  grass  or  curled  up  beneath  the  house.  Every 
one  is  kind  to  me.  Miss  Virginia  often  fetches 
my  meals  to  me  with  her  own  hand.  The  doctor 
ministers  to  every  want  as  tenderly  as  a  woman. 
Minnie,  young  and  vigorous,  cheers  me  with  her 
companionship,  and  warmed  me  through  the  long, 
hard  winter. 

Master  came  in   April,  but   I   was   too  weary   to 


D 


lomec 


3^7 


do  more  than  look  up  into  his  face,  with  these  old, 
bleared  eves,  glad  to  discover,  through  their  mists, 
that  in  his  heart  I  am  not  forgotten.  He  lett  sud- 
denly. Thev  told  me  he  had  been  notified,  while 
shooting  snipe  in  the  Jamestown  marsh,  of  the 
sudden  death  of  Mr.  Selden,  and  had  gone  to  the 
funeral. 

Verily,  who  next  ? 

A  month  ago  he  returned  for  a  day.  He  said 
he  was  passing  by  and  stopped  to  see  me.  There 
was  not  much  pleasure  to  him  in  the  sight  of  me. 
I  could  hardly  drag  myself  forth  to  receive  his  pet- 
ting. When  he  bade  me  good-by,  he  looked  very 
sad,  and  he  stood  gazing  at  me  long  and  tenderly. 
Shall  I  ever 


The   Last   Picture. 


328  Diomed 

Williamsburg,  Julv  30/95. 

Dear  John  :  — 

You  notified  me  you  were  about  starting  for  the 
West ;   I  therefore  direct  this  to  Milwaukee. 

Poor  old  Di  is  gone.  I  feel  that  it  is  a  blessed 
relief  from  suffering.  Both  for  your  sake  and  his 
own,  I  did  what  1  could  for  him  ;  but  his  was  the 
incurable  malady  of  age.  A  week  ago,  he  appeared 
better,  and  hobbled  out  upon  the  street.  He  was 
deaf  and  nearly  blind,  and  was  struck  by  a  passing 
cart.  His  back  seemed  to  have  sustained  some 
injury,  but  he  recovered.  Last  night  he  appeared 
quite  bright,  and  came  into  the  dining-room  while 
we  were  at  tea.  I  fed  him  some  tidbits,  and  allowed 
him  to  remain  about  until  bedtime.  This  morning 
we  found  him  dead  in  his  bed.  I  know  just  how 
you  will  feel.  Truly  he  was  a  good  one.  I  had 
a  grave  dug  for  him  and  buried  him  near  the  lilac 
bushes  in  our  garden.  When  you  return,  do  try  to 
arrange  your  affairs  so  that  you  can  pay  us  a  visit 
in  the  sora  season  early  in  September.  There  are 
no  partridges,  so  let  us  go  back  to  shooting  rail. 

Yr.  affec,  bro. 

OBITUARY 

From  American   Field,  August  10,  1895 

Diomed 
Born  April  22,   1883,  at  Richmond,  Va.  ; 
Died  July  30,   1895,  at  Williamsburg,  V^a. 
Aged  I  2  years  3  months  and  8  days. 

This  was  an   English  setter   dog,  —  only  a  dog. 
But   many  a  human    being   passes  from  the  world 


Diomed  329 

without  the  friends,  without  the  mourning,  ;ind 
without  the  genuine  worth  of  my  beloved  old 
friend  and   companion. 

In  the  twelve  years  of  his  life  he  never  had 
a  heart-beat  that  was   not  loyal   to   his   master. 

When  he  was  a  puppy  he  began  to  hunt;  and 
hunted,  from  then  until  the  last  season,  with  zeal, 
endurance,  speed,  and  intelligence  never  surpassed 
by  anv  dog  that  ever  lived. 

In  the  stubbles  and  on  the  mountains  of  Vir- 
ginia, on  the  prairies  of  Minnesota  and  Dakota,  in 
North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida, 
and  Texas,  —  wherever  he  went,  the  story  was  the 
same.  Diomed  stood  first  among  all  his  com- 
panions. It  made  no  difference  whether  the  game 
was  turkeys,  prairie  chickens,  grouse,  quails,  wood- 
cocks, or  snipes  ;  it  made  no  difference  whether  the 
man  behind  him  was  master  or  stranger,  he  hunted, 
from  daylight  up  to  daylight  down,  from  day  to 
day,  from  week  to  week,  ceaseless  and  untiring  in 
his  quest,  and  jovous  in  his  work.  The  same 
tribute  was  paid  to  him  by  every  man  who  ever 
worked  him.  Even  last  fall,  when  he  was  too  old 
and  weak  to  spring  in  and  out  of  the  wagon,  all 
that  he  asked  was  to  be  put  down  and  litted  back. 
Once  upon  the  earth,  there  was  still  left  the  tireless, 
swinging  stride,  which,  in  the  course  ot  a  long 
lifetime,  brought  to  bag  birds  numbered  by  the 
thousands. 

Poor  old  Di  !  I  am  writing  of  you  now  from 
the  spot  where  you  and  a  human  friend  were  with 
me  —  both  in  the  prime  of  lusty  youth  —  but  nine 
years  ago. 


330 


D 


lomec 


Of  all  the  gay  party  at  the  Plankinton  then,  but 
two  are  left. 

How  shall  I  write  your  epitaph,  my  noble,  trusted, 
trustful,  loving  friend  ? 

Let  it  be  this  : 

Here  lies  as  true  and  unselfish  a  friend  as  ever 
man  had.  One  without  fear;  yet,  who  never  sought 
a  quarrel  in  his  lite,  or  lost  a  battle  once  begun. 

A  sportsman,  ever  ready,  day  or  night,  to  go  with 
the  earliest  and  return  with  the  latest. 

A  born  gentleman,  who,  with  all  the  blood  of  all 
the  Howards  in  his  veins,  proved  his  pedigree  by 
his  performance,  and  stood  only  on  his  individual 
worth. 

An  intelligence  and  a  heart  worthy  to  possess 
a  soul.  An  example  ot  how  a  dog  may  live  and 
die,  teaching  lessons  in  the  highest  qualities,  to  man. 

Bless  your  memory,  dear  old  Di  ! 

It  were  sacrilege  to  invoke  God's  blessing  upon 
a  dog. 

But,  thank  God,  it  is  no  sacrilege  to  shed  these 
tears  of  memory  beside  your  grave,  my  grand  old 
nature's  nobleman. 

1  The  author's  nom  de  plume. 


THE    END 


Birdcraft 

A  FIELD  BOOK  OF  TWO  HUNDRED  SONG,  GAME,  AND  WATER  BIRDS 

By  MABEL   OSGOOD   WRIGHT 

Eiglity  Plates  by  Lolls  AcAssiz  Fukkiks 

Small  Quarto.         $2.50  net 

"  It  is  more  than  an  accurate  and  comprehensive  description  of  all  the  birds 
one  is  likclv  to  find  in  an  extended  searcli.  It  is  also  an  introduction  to  them 
and  their  haunts,  so  enticingly  written  that  the  reader  at  once  falls  in  love  with 
them,  and  becomes  an  enthusiast  in  their  pursuit.  .  .  .  The  scientific  part  of 
the  work  is  equally  well  done." —  Evening  Bulletin,  Philadeljihia. 

"Tnis  is  a  charming  volume,  upon  a  pleasant  theme.  The  author  is  not  a 
hard-hearte.i  scientist  who  goes  forth  with  bag  and  uun  to  take  life  and  rob  nests, 
but  a  patient  and  intelligent  obsrrver,  who  loves  the  children  of  the  air,  and  joins 
their  fraternitv.  Such  a  book  inspires  study  and  observation,  and  encourages 
effort  to  acquire  knowledge  of  the  works  of  God.  The  book  is  a  wise  teachei^ 
as  well  as  an  inspiring  guide,  and  contains  beautiful,  well-arranged  illustrations." 
—  New  York  Observer. 

"  The  author  has  struck  the  golden  mean  in  her  treatment  of  the  different 
birds,  saying  neither  too  much  nor  too  little,  but  mostly  furnishing  information 
at  first  hand,  or  from  approved  authorities.  The  book  will  be  very  welcome  to 
a  large  number  who  have  felt  the  want  ot  a  work  of  this  kind.  It  will  increase 
their'enjoyment  of  outward  nature,  and  greatly  add  to  the  pleasure  of  a  summer 
vacation."  —  Boston  Herald. 

"  The  book  is  attractive,  interesting,  helpful,  and  should  be  in  the  library  of 
every  lover  of  birds."  —  Science. 

Citizen  Bird 

SCENES  FROM  BIRD   LIFE  IN   PLAIN   ENGLISH  FOR   BEGINNERS 
By  MABEL   OSGOOD    WRIGHT 

Author  of  "  Tommy-Anne"  etc. 

AND 

DR.    ELLIOTT   COUES, 

Author  of  "Birds  of  North  America  " 

With  over  One  Hundred  Illustrations  by  Louis  Agassiz  Fuertes 

Cloth.         Crown  8vo.         $1.50  net 


"An  extremely  praiseworthy  attempt  to  teach  children  about  our  domestic 
birds,  by  encouraging  them  to  observe  the  living  creatures  rather  than  the  in- 
animate '  specimen.'  More  than  a  hundred  accurate  and  spirited  illustrations 
add  greatly  to  the  attractiveness  of  the  volume."  —  7 he  Nation . 

"  Bv  far  the  best  bird  book  for  boys  and  girls  yet  published  in  .Imerica."  — 
C.  H.  M.  in  SCIENCE. 

"One  of  the  most  charming  as  iwell  as  most  useful  books."  —  FoREST  ASD 

Stream.  

THE    MACMILLAN    COMPANY, 

66   FIFTH   AVENUE,    NEW   YORK. 


Four-Footed  Americans 

AND    THEIR    KIN 
By  MABEL   OSGOOD   WRIGHT 

Edited  by  Frank  M.  Chai'man 


With  seventy-two  original  illustrations  by  Ernest  Seton  Thompson 


Price    $1.50    net 

The  scene  of  the  book  shifts  from  farm  to  woods  and  back  to  an  old 
room,  fitted  as  a  sort  of  winter  camp  —  Camp  Saturday  —  where  vivid 
stories  of  the  beasts  that  cannot  be  seen  near  home  are  tuld  by  the  camp- 
fire,  the  sailor  who  has  hunted  the  seal,  the  woodsman,  mining  engineer, 
and  wandering  scientist  each  taking  his  turn  —  the  titles  of  the  chapters 
giving  the  idea  of  various  treatments. 

The  name  of  the  artist  should  be  a  sufficient  guarantee  of  the  perfection 
of  the  animal  pictures,  Imt  it  is  safe  to  add  that  nowhere  outside  of  this 
volume  can  be  found  such  a  group  of  original  and  lifelike  portraits  of  the 
chief  of  our  American  mammals. 


The  Friendship  of  Nature 

A    NEW    ENGLAND    CHRONICLE    OF    BIRDS    AND    FLOWERS 
By  MABEL   OSGOOD   WRIGHT 


18mo.     Cloth,  75  cts.     Large  Paper.  $3.00 


"A  dainty  little  volume,  exhaling  the  jierfume  and  radiating  the  hues  of 
both  cultivated  and  wild  flowers,  echoing  the  songs  of  birds,  and  illustrated 
with  exquisite  pen  pictures  of  liits  of  garden,  field,  and  wooilland  scenery. 
The  author  is  an  intimate  of  nature.  She  relislies  its  beauties  with  the 
keenest  delight,  and  descrilies  them  with  a  musical  flow  of  language  that 
carries  us  along  from  a  'May  Day'  to  a  '  Winter  Mood'  in  a  thoroughly 
sustained  effort;  and  as  we  drift  with  the  current  of  her  fancy  and  her 
tribute  to  nature,  we  gather  much  that  is  informatory,  for  she  has  made  a 
close  study  of  the  habits  of  birds  and  the  legendry  of  flowers."  —  Richmond 
Dispatch. 


THE    MACMILLAN    COMPANY, 

66  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK. 


■' 

y 

iyi95594 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

